For many across the region, the day after Mardi Gras means heading to church to receive ashes in the shape of a cross on their foreheads as a symbol of the somber period of Lent. Above, Eucharistic Minister Marilyn Tourres applies ashes to a parishioner’s forehead during the noon Ash Wednesday service at Ascension of Our Lord Church in LaPlace. (Staff photo by Kimberly Hopson)