A priest and eucharistic ministers ...

A priest and eucharistic ministers smudg a black-and-white image of the suffering Christ Wednesday afternoon, then used the ashes to give each parishioner the mark of the cros

The charcoal portrait, done at an O'Fallon High School junior, is not a fixture in St Clare meeting-house nor was this technique familiar to its members forward Ash Wednesday.

In the past, priests have taken particles from a small receptacle and distributed the ashes.

After reading an article about a house of worship that successfully used an ash portrait, Sister Carolyn McWatters decided to bring the idea before the parish.

They enlisted the help of 17-year-old Ian Jentsch a house of worship member who developed a passion for art at an early age and plans to inquiry film.

With little time to spare, Ian teat into the project, working with different fabrics and sketches before finding something he liked.

Ian finished