Ash Wednesday 2026 made the Catholic identity of our University truly felt — and seen. On what seemed like an otherwise normal Wednesday, hundreds of Catholic University students, faculty, and staff went about their business with dark ashes on their foreheads: a visible sign that they had started the season of Lent in prayer. They made an effort before, after, or even between classes to attend liturgies and, keeping the tradition of the Church, receive ashes on the first day of Lent — a reminder of our mortality and the importance of orienting our lives toward Heaven.
This year, four Masses took place in St. Vincent de Paul Chapel where Father Aquinas Guilbeau, university chaplain, led our community in what it does best: worshipping God together.
