Ash Wednesday falls this year on March 5, 2025. Our Ash Wednesday schedule is as follows:

Ash Wednesday:
9:30 AM - Ashes Prayer Service - Numen Lumen Pavilion
12:15 PM - Ecumenical service - Elon Community Church
4:00 PM - Ashes Prayer Service - Numen Lumen Pavilion
8:00 PM - Ash Wednesday Mass - Elon Community Church

Per Elon policy, students may request an excused absence from class for approved religious holidays, such as Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, to attend one of the services. Students must formally notify their instructor that they will miss class by completing the Religious Observance Notification Form before the deadline.

Ash Wednesday is a day of fasting and abstinence. Please see the guidelines below:

FAQ

What is Ash Wednesday all about?
Ash Wednesday is so named because this first day of Lent is where we are marked with ashes to show the repentance of our sins and mourning. This is also a Biblical sign that we live today. We can see this in several verses.

"I turned to the Lord God, pleading in earnest prayer, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes" (Daniel 9:3)
Other verses include: 1 Samuel 4:12, Jon 3:6, Esther 4:1 and Matthew 11:20-21

Today, ashes are still this same sign of repentance and mourning for our sins. They also represent our mortality. "I am nothing but dust and ashes" (Genesis 18:27). Reminding ourselves that nobody escapes physical death, we look forward to eternal life.

Where do we get the ashes?
They come from burning the palms from last year's Palm Sunday Masses.

Who can receive ashes?
Anyone can receive ashes on Ash Wed. While we have communion only for Catholics who are in good standing with the Church, all may receive ashes.

Is Ash Wed a holy day of obligation?
No, but all Catholics are strongly urged to attend, because it is the start of the Lenten season.