Ash Wednesday In The Archdiocese of Philadelphia— Catholics Throughout The Philadelphia Region Mark The Beginning Of Lent
Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. will be the main celebrant and homilist at the Ash Wednesday Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, Wednesday March 1, 2017.This Mass will be streamed live in its entirety on the Archdiocesan website (www.archphila.org).
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Season of Lent for Christians throughout the world. Lent is a 40-day penitential time of prayer, fasting and almsgiving from Ash Wednesday through Holy Thursday in preparation for the Easter celebration.
Wednesday, March 1, 2017
12:05 p.m.
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
18th Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Catholics in 217 parishes across the five-county Archdiocese will attend Mass or a Liturgy of the Word and receive blessed ashes on their foreheads, marked in the sign of a cross, reminding them to repent and believe in the Gospel as the 2017 Lenten Season begins.
The Cathedral Parish offers the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation on weekdays beginning at 11:30 a.m. for the Lenten Season in addition to other scheduled times. Likewise, individual parishes throughout the Archdiocese may have alternative dates and times for this Sacrament in addition to already scheduled times.
The Bishops of the United States prescribe, as a minimal obligation, that all persons who are fourteen years of age and older are bound to abstain from eating meat on Ash Wednesday, all the Fridays of Lent and Good Friday. Further, all persons eighteen years of age and older, up to and including their fifty-ninth birthday, are bound to fast by limiting themselves to a single full meal on Ash Wednesday and on Good Friday, while the other two meals on those days are to be light.
In addition to the Lenten Season, the Holy Father has invited dioceses and parishes to join with him in participating in the 24 Hours for the Lord initiative. It calls for parishes to open the doors of their Church for a period of 24 hours preceding the Fourth Week of Lent.
During this time, clergy and faithful of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia will have the opportunity to pray before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Friday, March 24, 2017 and Saturday, March 25, 2017. For more information and for parishes participating in 24 Hours for the Lord, please visit https://archphila.org/24hours/
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Editor’s Note: For Ash Wednesday Mass in the Cathedral, a press audio/video mult-box clean feed will be provided in the Cathedral parking lot with multiple HD-SDI video (BNC) and mic/line (XLR) connections. Crews will need a live truck or recording device. Television cameras will not be permitted in the Cathedral. Reporters and still photographers will be permitted in the Cathedral.
