Lent and Ash Wednesday

For the billions of Christians around the world, today marks the beginning of the Lenten Season.

Lent begins a 40 day spiritual preparation of prayer, fasting and almsgiving before Easter.  It is a time for reflection and connection for people of the Christian faith.

Christianity remains the world’s largest religious group.  

In 2019 the Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary estimated the total number of Christians to be at 2.5 billion worldwide.  In 2023, the estimate is between 2.38 and 2.5 billion.

If you identify as a Roman Catholic, Protestant, Evangelical or Orthodox Anglican then you are a Christian.

In 2010 the Pew Research Center listed the top three countries with the largest number of Christians to be:

• United States
• Brazil
• Mexico

Today in 2023 based on data from the World Population Review this information has not changed.

Christians around the world attend Ash Wednesday services today.  Ashes are made from the previous year’s palms. 

The services act as a solemn reminder of our human mortality and the need for reconciliation with God.   As a Christian you may choose to fast with only one full meal and abstaining from meat.  

Private Home Health Care wishes a prayerful and faith-filled Lenten season for all of our fellow Christians in the world.