By LifeSiteNews (Faith) | Created at 2025-03-06 21:17:18 | Updated at 2025-03-07 00:19:28
3 hours ago
Thu Mar 6, 2025 - 3:29 pm EST
(LifeSiteNews) — While on his way back from the U.S.-Mexico border on Ash Wednesday, Catholic Vice President JD Vance received ashes on his forehead from a Catholic priest.
Various media outlets were on site to capture the moment, which took place seconds before Vance boarded Air Force Two. The identity of the priest is not readily known.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance received ashes on his forehead before departing Texas following his visit to the Southern Border🙏 pic.twitter.com/QDdcDNbtIi
— CatholicVote (@CatholicVote) March 6, 2025
Footage of the exchange went viral on social media today, with many praising Vance for his overt display of his Catholic faith.
Daily Caller reporter Reagan Reese, a Hillsdale College graduate, was on the ground covering Vance’s trip. She expressed gratitude for Vance and his team.
“I’m very blessed that once Vance loaded the plane, his team let me also receive my ashes. I’ve never missed an Ash Wednesday,” she said in an X post.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also had ashes on his forehead on Wednesday. They were especially visible during a media appearance he did on Fox News while discussing the latest developments in the Russia-Ukraine peace talks.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 6, 2025
Earlier this week, the White House released a statement signed by President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump wishing Christians across the U.S. a blessed start to Lent.
The short statement recalls that “followers of Christ wear crosses of ash on their foreheads — a sacred reminder of our mortality and our enduring need for Christ’s infinite mercy and redeeming love.”
The Trump White House permitted an Ash Wednesday Mass to take place in the Indian Treaty Room. That was not the first time Trump approved Catholic Masses on White House grounds. Beginning in 2018 with an Ash Wednesday Mass, the White House regularly hosted Catholic Masses about every other week.
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