The season of Lent - the traditional period of penance and self reflection begins today - with Ash Wednesday.
Ash Wednesday is celebrated with services in which the faithful are marked with an ash cross on the forehead.
The season of Lent ends with Good Friday and Easter.
The following are a handful of local churches and their schedule of holiday mass services.
Cuyler Warren Street Methodist Church, 450 Warren St.: 7 p.m.
Sacred Heart-St. Stephen's: 3:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.
St. Mary Star of the Sea: 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
St. Paul's Episcopal Church: Noon and 7:30 p.m.
Visitation Rectory, 98 Richards St.: Noon, 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. in Spanish.