See photos as Utah Christians mark Ash Wednesday and countdown to Easter begins
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Diana Rivas receives the ashes from the Rev. Jose Fidel Barrera-Cruz during Ash Wednesday Mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Salt Lake City, Wednesday, March 6, 2019.
For many believers — like these at west Salt Lake City’s Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church — Ash Wednesday marks, quite literally, the start of Christianity’s holiest season.
It falls on the seventh Wednesday before Easter and kicks off Lent.
Followers — including Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Episcopalians and Lutherans — put ashes on their foreheads as an outward symbol of their penitence.
This year, Western Christians will celebrate Easter on April 21. Eastern Orthodox devotees will do so a week later, on April 28.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Diana Rivas receives the ashes from the Rev. Jose Fidel Barrera-Cruz during Ash Wednesday Mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, March 6, 2019.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Alexander Ortega, 8, receives the ashes from the Rev. Jose Fidel Barrera-Cruz during Ash Wednesday Mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, March 6, 2019.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Maria Camarena receives the ashes from the Rev. Jose Fidel Barrera-Cruz during Ash Wednesday Mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, March 6, 2019.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Rev. Jose Fidel Barrera-Cruz conducts Ash Wednesday Mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, March 6, 2019.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Members of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church receive the ashes from the Rev. Jose Fidel Barrera-Cruz during Ash Wednesday Mass in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, March 6, 2019.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Rev. Jose Fidel Barrera-Cruz conducts Ash Wednesday Mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, March 6, 2019.