Photos: Philippines celebrates Ash Wednesday as COVID-19 rules lift

Local church officials gave the green light for the 'imposition of ashes on the forehead'

Published: March 02, 2022 10:26 AFP and Compiled by Nathaniel Lacsina, Senior Web Editor

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Manila: Thousands of Filipinos flocked to churches to observe Ash Wednesday, with Catholic priests and nuns daubing their foreheads with a cross for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Image Credit: AFP

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Most COVID-19 restrictions were scrapped this week after a sharp drop in infections and increased vaccinations, allowing churches to pack their pews and physical contact to resume. Image Credit: AFP

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Devotees wearing masks began lining up outside Baclaran Church in Manila before dawn to receive the ash cross on their foreheads - a ritual that signals the beginning of Lent. Image Credit: AP

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Churches have in the past two years sprinkled it in people's hair due to anti-Covid measures. Image Credit: AFP

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"I feel like I am in heaven," Lydia Smith, 76, told AFP outside the church where several thousand of the faithful stood in long queues waiting their turn. "I am really happy even if it's very crowded. It's like the joy of the church has returned." Image Credit: AP

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The Philippines is overwhelmingly Catholic, with some 80 percent of its people said to be believers. Image Credit: AFP

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Since early 2020 most devotees have been forced to follow church services online and major religious festivals have been curtailed or cancelled due to strict social-distancing rules. Image Credit: AFP

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But Tuesday marked the beginning of the "new normal" in the national capital region and 38 other areas. Most restrictions have been removed, allowing places of worship, restaurants and public transport to operate at full capacity. Image Credit: AP

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Local church officials gave the green light for the "imposition of ashes on the forehead" to resume on Wednesday, but sprinkling the powdery residue in hair was still allowed. Image Credit: Reuters

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"One of the tragedies of COVID-19 is it separated us," said Father Victorino Cueto, the rector of Baclaran Church. "When we put the ash on the forehead, it means that we are really reaching out to one another, in faith and in love." Image Credit: Reuters

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Hotel safety officer Radito Mendoza, 62, welcomed the resumption of the tradition. "I'm so happy that we are slowly going back to normal and those who want to go to church are now able to do so," he said. Image Credit: AP

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Devotees line up to have their foreheads marked with an ash cross at the Redemptorist Church. Image Credit: AP

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