Ash Wednesday around the world
In India, Honduras, the Philippines and beyond, Christians celebrate Ash Wednesday.
- Indian Archbishop of Hyderabad Thumma Bala (right) marks the symbol of the cross with ash on the forehead of a young Christian devotee during an Ash Wednesday service at Saint Mary’s Basilica in Secunderabad, the twin city of Hyderabad, on February 18, 2015. (NOAH SEELAM/AFP/Getty Images)
- Indian Archbishop of Hyderabad Thumma Bala (right) marks the symbol of the cross with ash on the forehead of a Christian devotee during an Ash Wednesday service at Saint Mary’s Basilica in Secunderabad, the twin city of Hyderabad, on February 18, 2015. (NOAH SEELAM/AFP/Getty Images)
- A man sells Vatican flags outside the Santa Sabina church before the Ash Wednesday mass opening Lent, the forty-day period of abstinence and deprivation for Christians, before Holy Week and Easter on February 18, 2015 in Rome. (GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images)
- Catholics pray as they celebrate Ash Wednesday, marking the beginning of Lent — a period of penitence for Christians before Easter — in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, on February 18, 2015. (ORLANDO SIERRA/AFP/Getty Images)
- Catholics pray as they celebrate Ash Wednesday, marking the beginning of Lent — a period of penitence for Christians before Easter — in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, on February 18, 2015. (ORLANDO SIERRA/AFP/Getty Images)
- A Catholic woman attends mass to celebrate Ash Wednesday, marking the beginning of Lent — a period of penitence for Christians before Easter — in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, on February 18, 2015. (ORLANDO SIERRA/AFP/Getty Images)
- An Indian Catholic priest marks cross symbol on the forehead of devotees during an Ash Wednesday service at the St. Joseph Cathedral in Hyderabad, India, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
- A Catholic nun uses ash to mark a cross on the forehead of a man in observance of Ash Wednesday at The Redemptorist Church at suburban Paranaque city south of Manila, Philippines Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
- With their foreheads marked with ash, Catholic devotees pray after lighting candles in observance of Ash Wednesday at The Redemptorist Church at suburban Paranaque city, south of Manila, Philippines Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
- A Catholic nun uses ash to mark a cross on the forehead of a child in observance of Ash Wednesday at The Redemptorist Church at suburban Paranaque city south of Manila, Philippines Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
- A Catholic nun uses ash to mark a cross on the forehead of a man in observance of Ash Wednesday at The Redemptorist Church at suburban Paranaque city south of Manila, Philippines Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
- Roman Catholics queue up to have crosses etched to their foreheads with ash by nuns and laymen as the country marks Ash Wednesday, the official beginning of the Christian Lenten season in Manila on February 18, 2015. (NOEL CELIS/AFP/Getty Images)
- Indian Catholic Christians offer prayers during an Ash Wednesday service at Saint Mary’s Basilica in Secunderabad, the twin city of Hyderabad, on February 18, 2015. (NOAH SEELAM/AFP/Getty Images)
- An Indian Catholic priest (left) marks the symbol of the cross with ash on the forehead of a Christian devotee during an Ash Wednesday service at Saint Mary’s Basilica in Secunderabad, the twin city of Hyderabad, on February 18, 2015. (NOAH SEELAM/AFP/Getty Images)
- An Indian Catholic Christian holding a rosary offers prayers during an Ash Wednesday service at Saint Mary’s Basilica in Secunderabad, the twin city of Hyderabad, on February 18, 2015. (NOAH SEELAM/AFP/Getty Images)