Ash Wednesday will be celebrated on Wednesday, February 14, 2024 at 7 pm.
Ash Wednesday always falls six and half weeks before Easter, beginning the Lenten season of preparation for Christ’s Resurrection on Easter Sunday.
In the early Christian Church, public penance for people who had sinned including wearing ashes and sackcloth. As the Church grew and evolved, this practice lessened.
This long tradition — of externally recognizing ourselves as sinners seeking with God — ultimately transformed into what we now know as Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent.