Following the indulgence of Fat Tuesday, Ash Wednesday is an important day as it marks the beginning of the Lenten Season for many Catholics.
However, as the pandemic puts a hold on the Mardi Gras celebrations, New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond tells Scoot, Ash Wednesday will also be very different this year.
Aymond says Parish church leaders will have three options when it comes to placing the ashes on the foreheads of the faithful. Pandemic restrictions prevent priests from touching
One method Aymond says a method used by the church during medieval times, which is to sprinkle the ashes onto the person’s forehead.
“Another way that we are suggesting is the possibility of using a q-tip and putting it in the ashes and using that q-tip to make the sign of the cross therefore there is no actual contact,” said Aymond. “There is a third way, we can ask each person to sanitize their forehead with a wipe. That way the priest can touch the forehead because each forehead would be sanitized.”