Pope Francis places ashes on the head of a cardinal during Ash Wednesday Mass at Santa Sabina Basilica in Rome March 6, 2019. (CNS photo/Yara Nardi, Reuters)
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments asked priests to take special anti-COVID-19 precautions this year when distributing ashes on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17, including sprinkling ashes on the top of people's heads rather than using them to make a cross on people's foreheads. The congregation's note on the "distribution of ashes in time of pandemic" was published on the congregation's website Jan. 12 and directs priests to say "the prayer for blessing the ashes" and then sprinkle "the ashes with holy water, without saying anything." "Then he addresses all those present and only once says the formula as it appears in the Roman Missal, applying it to all in general: 'Repent and believe in the Gospel' or 'Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.'" "The priest then cleanses his hands, puts on a face mask and distributes the ashes to those who come to him or, if appropriate, he goes to those who are standing in their places," it said. "The priest takes the ashes and sprinkles them on the head of each one without saying anything." The usual practice would be to repeat the formula -- "Repent and believe in the Gospel" or "Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return" -- to each person as the ashes are sprinkled on the top of their head or rubbed onto their forehead. Sprinkling ashes on the top of people's heads, rather than marking foreheads with ashes, is the customary practice at the Vatican and in Italy. Given the spread of the coronavirus, the practice has the advantage of not requiring the priest to touch multiple people. The Latin, Italian, French, German, Spanish and Portuguese versions of the note also specify that the mask should cover the priests' "nose and mouth."
Archdiocese launches COVID-19 vaccination awareness campaign When Cardinal Cupich joined other clergy in publicly receiving a COVID-19 vaccine Dec. 23 at St. Anthony Hospital, it marked the beginning of an archdiocesan campaign to encourage everyone to be vaccinated when they are able to.
In message for World Sick Day, Pope Francis calls for health care for all Praising those who help the sick and praying for those who are sick, Pope Francis called on Christians to practice what they preach, including by guaranteeing equal access to health care for all people.
‘Salud!’: A better 2021 requires more than a toast Whether or not they raised a glass of bubbly as the new year made its debut, many people around the world were convinced that 2021 had to be better than 2020 was.