MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) – Some members of Milwaukee’s Catholic community marked Ash Wednesday by taking part in a tradition on the first day of Lent. 

A special Mass was held at Pius XI   High School Wednesday morning. With Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day falling on the same day this year, Archbishop Jerome Listecki says people are showing their love for God.

“The greatest symbol of love is the cross because it shows how much God loves us, so in a special way we wear that cross and we take that love into the community,” Archbishop Listecki said.

The ashes are applied to the foreheads of Christians as a reminder of their mortality and to show their sorrow for Jesus’ crucifixion.