AS THE Catholic marks the beginning of Lent with the observance of Ash Wednesday yesterday, March 2, the Diocese of Bacolod has called on the faithful for prayers amid the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.
In a circular letter signed by Bishop Patricio Buzon, who led the Ash Wednesday celebration at the San Sebastian Cathedral in Bacolod City, he said that in response to the request of Pope Francis and the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), they marked Ash Wednesday in the diocese as a day of prayer and fasting in solidarity with the intention of the Holy Father for the people of Ukraine.
Rev. Fr. Ronald Quijano, rector of the Sacred Heart Seminary in Bacolod City, also told the faithful to offer their penance and sacrifices for peace and the people of the embattled eastern European nation.
The observance of Ash Wednesday in the diocese also marked a return to normalcy in the aftermath of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic with priests and ministers now allowed to put ashes directly in the foreheads of the faithful.
Previously, they are only allowed to l sprinkle ashes at the height of the pandemic.*