Catholic Students Received “Toxic Ash” on Ash Wednesday, Leaving Permanent Scars

Here’s some advice for anyone participating in Ash Wednesday: Make sure the ashes don’t leave permanent scars on your forehead.

Earlier this month, apparently, students at St Augustine’s Catholic High School in Redditch, England received toxic ash for the religious ritual, sending at least two kids to the hospital and leaving a possibly permanent “chemical burn” on the foreheads of teachers and students.

A spokesperson for the school said: ‘During the Ash Wednesday service for Year 9 and Year 11 students, it came to our attention that discomfort was experienced by some students that had received the ashes on the forehead. ‘As a result, all students were requested to wash the ashes off immediately to ensure no further discomfort was felt. Any further distribution of ashes immediately ceased. ‘The school is dismayed by this event.

In total, 73 students, 16 staff and the Chair of the Governors have been affected to date. Those impacted were administered on site by trained First Aiders and then advised to seek further medical attention.

Maybe God was sending them a sign…

The school said it was undergoing an investigation into what happened and that it would release a report on the matter. Whatever it says, it hasn’t been made public yet.

(via Boing Boing. Image via Shutterstock)