Ash Wednesday under Covid restrictions – in pictures

Ash Wednesday mass at Tegucigalpa Cathedral in Honduras

An ‘Ash and Dash’ drive-through event at Faith Lutheran Church in White Oak, Pittsburgh, US

Residents make pancakes over a wood fire at Valennes, in north-west France. The traditional event on Ash Wednesday is usually part of a carnival which was cancelled this year

Six-year-old Annalee Corcoran receives ashes from her Aunty Maria outside their home in Meakstown, Dublin, Ireland. Covid-19 restrictions are preventing ashes being received in church buildings as Ireland remains in level five lockdown

Catholic priest Adrian Magnait distributes sachets of blessed ash and prayer pamphlets outside the Saint Gabriel the Archangel Parish church in Caloocan, the Philippines

The Rev Nicola Sullivan delivers an outdoor Ash Wednesday service at Southwell Minster in Nottingham, England

A young boy attends a service at St Teresa’s Church, in Chennai, India

A Catholic worshipper prays during the Ash Wednesday service at the San Salvador Cathedral, in El Salvador

Ash Wednesday mass in St Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City, Italy

Head verger, Charlie Brown, burns palm crosses from last year’s Palm Sunday in the nave of Ripon Cathedral, in Yorkshire, England. The ash will be sprinkled on worshipers as a token of penitence

Hand sanitiser and tokens to mark seating positions are provided for members of the congregation at the entrance to the quire of Ripon Cathedral

An outdoor service takes place at Baclaran church in Parañaque, the Philippines, on 17 February

A woman collects an envelope of ashes at Carlow Cathedral in Co Carlow, Ireland. The Catholic church has urged people to celebrate Ash Wednesday at home

Ashes on a cotton swab at a drive-through Ash Wednesday service at Munholland United Methodist Church in Metairie, Louisiana, US

A woman receives ashes at the drive-through service in Metairie

Cardinal John Njue marks a cross on the forehead of a man during mass at the Cathedral Basilica of the Holy Family in Nairobi, Kenya

Pope Francis leads Catholics into Lent with the Ash Wednesday mass at St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Italy

Members of the Espiritu family, who are unable to attend holy mass, receive ashes sprinkled on their head by a priest as part of Covid-19 health protocols at their home in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines

A child receives sacramental bread at St. Anthony’s Church in Colombo, Sri Lanka

Ashes are sprinkled on the heads of followers at a Catholic church in Dili, East Timor

Joe Joyce with takeaway pots of ashes outside his shop in Clonmany, Co Donegal, Ireland. The local shop packaged the palm frond ashes in individual sauce pots and delivered them to the local church where they were blessed by the priest and set out with instructions for parishioners

Young girls attand mass at Saint Pierre Church in Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Wearing gloves for protection, a Christian lights a candle at a church in Metro Manila, the Philippines