Ash Wednesday Mass at Milwaukee church adapted for the times with sprinkled ashes, pandemic precautions Sophie Carson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The start of the Lenten season began Wednesday with a sign of the times.
Instead of ashes spread in a cross on parishioners foreheads, the Rev. Mark Payne at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church on Milwaukee s south side sprinkled a pinch over their heads.
The Archdiocese of Milwaukee asked churches to distribute ashes that way to minimize the spread of the coronavirus at the typically popular Ash Wednesday services. Parishioners at Blessed Sacrament said it was an easy change that allowed them to participate in a beloved annual tradition with a sense of some normalcy.