St. Peter Cathedral celebrates Ash Wednesday

MARQUETTE, Mich. (WLUC) - Parishioners of Saint Peter Cathedral in Marquette gathered on February 22 to celebrate Ash Wednesday.

Mass was celebrated first with holy communion, and each person was also marked with a cross of ashes on their forehead. Ash Wednesday is the start of lent, which includes prayer, fasting and almsgiving.

The church said the ashes are more than just a mark.

“An outward sign of the conversion of our hearts to the Lord,” Bishop John Doerfler, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Marquette. “And, as human beings, it’s helpful for us to do things that are signs of what’s going on inside of us, so the ashes are to us a reminder to set our hearts, first of all, on the Lord.”

The church also said lent is a time in Christian and Catholic faiths to turn away from sin.