BOSTON -- Receiving ashes on Ash Wednesday is a beloved tradition for many of the Catholic faithful. But what made that ritual remarkable this year was how routinely it could be done, as there were no pandemic-related protocols to limit or change it.

It was a clear contrast to Ash Wednesday observances in 2021, when archdiocesan coronavirus protocols prohibited any physical contact between the individuals imposing and receiving ashes. Instead of using their thumbs to mark the Sign of the Cross, the person administering the ashes could either sprinkle them on the top of the recipient's head or impose them on the recipient's forehead using a cotton swab, which could be used only once and then subsequently burned. Pastors were also permitted to give out packets of ashes for people to bring to the homebound.

The ritual looked more like it had in past years this Ash Wednesday, which fell this year on March 2.

"As it compares to the last two years, thank God, it's more like back to normal," Father Peter DeFazio, pastor of the South Boston-Seaport Catholic Collaborative, said after the first Mass of Ash Wednesday at Our Lady of Good Voyage Seaport Shrine.

The archdiocese also lifted its latest mask mandate just days earlier, on Feb. 28. While the faithful are still permitted to wear face masks, and pastors have the authority to require them in their parishes, the archdiocese is no longer requiring people to wear them at Mass.

"Thank God we were able to lift the masks this week and just do it the regular way. I am so, so grateful to God and the powers that be that we were able to go back to the normal routine this week. It's going to make a big difference," Father DeFazio said.

Our Lady of Good Voyage Seaport Shrine was open for confessions and the reception of ashes throughout the day. Masses were held at 9 a.m., 12:10 p.m. and 5:10 p.m., when people could come on their way to or from their workplaces or during their lunch breaks.

Father DeFazio said he was "happy with the turnout" at the morning Mass and also expected the later Masses to be similarly well-attended.

"It was like a Sunday Mass. Not bad for the first Mass of the day," he said.

Susan Abbott, an evangelization associate at the shrine and former director of religious education for the archdiocese, was present at the 9 a.m. Mass. She said she was moved to tears after the distribution of ashes.

"Maybe they don't know what it is, maybe they do, but they know it's something, how God speaks to us, how the Church speaks to us in signs and symbols," she said.

Father DeFazio kept the morning Mass short, knowing that most of the people attending had to head to work afterward. One exception to this was Megan Flynn, a resident of the West End, who brought her two children, Charlie, three, and Emma, one, to receive ashes before visiting the nearby Children's Museum.

Speaking to The Pilot after the Mass, Flynn said they like to visit different churches in the city, and she chose to take her children to the Seaport Shrine on that day because of its location near other places they like to visit.

"It was important for us to come to Mass this morning, and this Mass time seemed to work well for us," she said.