The Congregation for Divine Worship issues a note setting out the procedures that priests must follow throughout the world for the distribution of ashes at the beginning of Lent.
By Vatican News
The health situation caused by Covid-19 continues to force changes in daily life, which are also reflected in the context of the Church.
Before the start of Lent, on Wednesday, February 17, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments published a note detailing how Catholic priests should distribute the ashes.
Instructions
After blessing the ashes and sprinkling them with holy water in silence, the priest addresses those present, once reciting the formula of the Roman Missal: “Repent and believe in the Gospel” or “Remember that you are dust and to dust you you must return ”.
At that point, the note continues, the priest “wipes his hands, puts a mask on his face and distributes ashes to those who come to him or, if applicable, he goes to those who are in their places”.
He then sprayed the ashes on each person’s head “without saying anything”.