Ash Wednesday in the West Bank (13 images)

Nuns pray in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City on Ash Wednesday, February 13, 2013. Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent in the Western Christian calendar and falls 46 days before Easter. Ashes are gathered from the burning palm branches of the previous Palm Sunday and placed on the forehead or heads of Christians on Ash Wednesday. The ashes are a sign of mourning and repentance to God and marks the 40 days of prayer and fasting before Easter Sunday. UPI/Debbie Hill.

Palestinian Catholic boys with ashes on the foreheads worship during an Ash Wednesday mass in the Church of Annunciation in Beit Jala, West Bank, February 13, 2013. Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent in the Western Christian calendar. Ashes are gathered from the burning palm branches of the previous Palm Sunday and placed on the forehead or heads of Christians on Ash Wednesday. The ashes are a sign of mourning and repentance to God and marks the 40 days of prayer and fasting before Easter Sunday. UPI/Debbie Hill.

A Palestinian Catholic boy has ashes on his forehead during an Ash Wednesday mass the Church of Annunciation in Beit Jala, West Bank, February 13, 2013. Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent in the Western Christian calendar. Ashes are gathered from the burning palm branches of the previous Palm Sunday and placed on the forehead or heads of Christians on Ash Wednesday. The ashes are a sign of mourning and repentance to God and marks the 40 days of prayer and fasting before Easter Sunday. UPI/Debbie Hill.

A Palestinian Catholic girl with ashes on her forehead worships during an Ash Wednesday mass in the Church of Annunciation in Beit Jala, West Bank, February 13, 2013. Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent in the Western Christian calendar and falls 46 days before Easter. Ashes are gathered from the burning palm branches of the previous Palm Sunday and placed on the forehead or heads of Christians on Ash Wednesday. The ashes are a sign of mourning and repentance to God and marks the 40 days of prayer and fasting before Easter Sunday. UPI/Debbie Hill.