In a move reminiscent of his previous term, President Donald Trump's White House is hosting an Ash Wednesday Catholic Mass today as Lent begins, encouraging 'all who observe' to attend.
(LifeSiteNews) -- The White House will reportedly host an Ash Wednesday Mass this morning.
"The White House is observing the beginning of Lent with an Ash Wednesday Mass this morning in the Indian Treaty Room, per an email to staff viewed by [The Daily Wire]," Mary Margaret Olohan, a White House correspondent, wrote on X.
"All who observe are welcome to attend," the email stated.
Ash Wednesday starts Lent, a season in the Christian calendar of fasting, almsgiving, and abstinence leading up to Easter, which falls on April 20 this year. Mass on this day often includes the distribution of ashes upon the foreheads of the faithful.
During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump made explicit outreach to Catholic voters on his social media accounts, posting "Happy Birthday Mary" on the feast of the Nativity of Our Lady and the St. Michael the Archangel prayer on Michaelmas, as previously reported by LifeSiteNews.
This would not be the first time the Trump White House has hosted Catholic Masses.
Beginning in 2018 with an Ash Wednesday Mass, attended by more than 100 people, the White House regularly hosted Masses about every other week, according to Mick Mulvaney, Trump's former Office of Management and Budget director.
He wrote in the Wall Street Journal last year:
The Mass was so successful that it continued roughly every other week until it was shut down for COVID in March 2020. When Mr. Biden took office, I encouraged members of his transition team to resume the services. I pointed out that the benefit wasn’t limited to Catholics: after the Mass started, Protestant, Muslim and Jewish services were also held on the White House campus grounds. I reminded my successors that many of those worshippers weren’t “Trump people.” They were simply people, who seemed to want religion in their daily lives.
The answer I got from the Biden team was reasonable: they would look at things “after COVID.” It’s now long after COVID, and, as you can probably guess, neither the Mass or any of the other religious services have resumed.
LifeSiteNews has put together an eight-week Lenten retreat. Learn more here.
