NEWS
Gallery: Ash Wednesday
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As the sun rose over the Sandias, worshippers quietly filled the pews of the historic San Felipe de Neri Church for the early Ash Wednesday Mass in Albuquerque’s Old Town.
The service marked the start of Lent, a time when Catholics and other Christians fast and focus on repentance, reflection and spiritual renewal leading up to Easter.
Before the Rev. Michael Chiagorom and Deacon Dan Sanchez blessed the ashes with holy water, Chiagorom addressed those gathered in the centuries-old church: “These ashes remind us of two important truths. First, they remind us of our mortality: remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return. Second, they are a sign of repentance and humility before God. So they tell us to recognize our need for his mercy and grace.”
The sound of footsteps filled the church as people lined up to receive the ashes. They were each given a sign of the cross, in ashes, upon their foreheads. Once marked with the sign of the cross, worshippers — some with children in tow — returned to their seats to pray.
