A priestly voice greeted commuters Wednesday morning as they emerged from the underground belly of Park Street Station.

“Happy Ash Wednesday! We have ashes to start out Lent,’’ yelled the Rev. Matthew Williams, who was dressed in black and wore a purple stole over his shoulders in honor of the penitential season.

“Would you like to receive ashes to start your Lenten journey?’’ Williams asked any who would look up from their smartphones or lift their gaze from the pavement. “Your mom would be proud! You want them! You know it!’’

As Ash Wednesday opened the Christian season of penance and fasting before Easter, Williams, two other priests, and two women from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston began Lent by distributing ashes to passersby on a snowy Boston Common.

The idea for the archdiocese to offer ashes on the street for the first time was inspired by Pope Francis, who declared the period between Dec. 8 and Nov. 20 to be a year of mercy, said the Rev. Paul Soper.

Catholics, Soper said, have been called upon to be “ash-covered ambassadors for Christ.’’

Among those who received ashes were a Boston Parks & Recreation Department worker who jumped out of a garbage truck to have a cross drawn on his forehead and a homeless woman who prayed with the Rev. Jonathan Gaspar.

Many people who received ashes were delighted by the opportunity to get them on the go.

Soper gave ashes to Krista Embrett and Samantha Tralka, both 22, as they headed to work in the Financial District.

“A lot of time you’re waiting in long lines to get these ashes,’’ said Embrett, who recently moved to Beacon Hill from New Jersey. “We didn’t know this was going on.’’

“People are busy,’’ said Gaspar, who distributed ashes. “They’re running from home to work, and it’s a nice reminder for people that in the midst of their busy lives we have the presence of the church here in the middle of the Common.’’

The ashes are made from burning palm branches that were blessed on Palm Sunday last year. They are applied to the forehead in the shape of a cross.

Those receiving ashes are also given an exhortation: “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel.’’

The ashes represent the fragility of life and human mortality, the priests said.

“What God offers us in . . . the Easter sacraments is the opportunity to go back fully into the embrace of His love,’’ Soper said. “He never stops loving us, but we can stop loving Him very easily. And the call in the gospel is always to leave behind the way of life that leads us away from God’s love . . . and to go back into the joy of His love.’’

Easter is March 27. In prior years, representatives from the Paulist Center and St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral have also handed out ashes on the Common, Soper said.

The offer of ashes drew a range of reactions. Some people scurried by without making eye contact. Some politely declined. Others said they planned to go to church later in the day.

Some people were drawn in by Natalia Soares, an archdiocesan employee who spent two hours holding a sign reading, “Ashes here for Ash Wednesday’’ as she called out, “Good morning! Get your ashes for Ash Wednesday!’’

“It’s been really nice seeing people walk up surprised, like, ‘Really? I can get that here?’?’’ Soares said. “This is awesome.’’

Williams said he gave ashes to one man, who later returned for more because the first markings washed off.

“He wanted them over again,’’ Williams said.

Some people, he said, closed their eyes when they received ashes.

“It’s a sacred moment,’’ Williams said. “You’re in awe of how people want to encounter the Lord in that way.’’

Jose Danes, 35, who drives for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, pulled his empty bus over on Tremont Street and got ashes.

“I’ve always been a believer in God,’’ he said. “It washes away your sins, and it keeps you healthy.’’

Laura Crimaldi can be reached at laura.crimaldi@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @lauracrimaldi.