Lent 2027 begins on Ash Wednesday, 10 February 2027, and ends on Holy Thursday evening, 25 March, when the Easter Triduum begins. Easter Sunday is 28 March 2027.

When is Ash Wednesday 2027?

Ash Wednesday is Wednesday 10 February 2027. It is a day of fasting and abstinence from meat for Catholics.

When is Good Friday 2027?

Good Friday is 26 March 2027, a day of fasting and abstinence from meat.

What are the fasting rules for Lent?

Catholics aged 18 to 59 fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday (one full meal and two smaller meals). Catholics aged 14 and over abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and every Friday of Lent. In 2027 the Fridays of Lent are 12, 19 and 26 February and 5, 12, 19 and 26 March.

Lent 2027: dates, Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and fasting rules

Lent 2027 starts early. Ash Wednesday falls on 10 February 2027 and Easter Sunday on 28 March 2027. Here is every date that matters, the Fridays you need to plan for, and what the Church asks of you during the season.

Key dates of Lent 2027

Day	Date	Obligation
Ash Wednesday	Wednesday 10 February	Fast and abstinence
First Sunday of Lent	Sunday 14 February	None (Sundays are never fast days)
Lenten Ember Days	17, 19 and 20 February	Traditional rules only
Laetare Sunday	Sunday 7 March	None
Solemnity of St Joseph	Friday 19 March	Abstinence lifted (a solemnity on a Friday)
Palm Sunday	Sunday 21 March	None
Holy Thursday	Thursday 25 March	Lent ends at the evening Mass
Good Friday	Friday 26 March	Fast and abstinence
Holy Saturday	Saturday 27 March	Fast recommended until the Easter Vigil
Easter Sunday	Sunday 28 March	Feast

Easter 2027 falls on 28 March, making this one of the earliest Lents of the decade. In 2026 Ash Wednesday was 18 February and Easter 5 April; in 2028 Ash Wednesday will be 1 March and Easter 16 April.

The Fridays of Lent 2027

Every Friday of Lent is a day of abstinence from meat for Catholics aged 14 and over:

Friday 12 February
Friday 19 February (also an Ember Friday under traditional rules)
Friday 26 February
Friday 5 March
Friday 12 March
Friday 19 March: the Solemnity of St Joseph. Under canon 1251 a solemnity lifts the Friday obligation, so meat is permitted that day. Many Catholics abstain anyway as a Lenten discipline.
Friday 26 March: Good Friday, a day of fasting as well as abstinence

What the fasting rules require

Current rules

Fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday if you are 18 to 59: one full meal and two smaller meals that together are less than a full meal, with nothing between meals. Water, tea, coffee and medicine are always allowed.
Abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and the Fridays of Lent if you are 14 or over. Fish, eggs and dairy are fine.
Sundays are never fast days. The forty days of Lent are counted without them.

Full detail, including who is exempt, is on the Catholic fasting rules page. Good Friday has its own page.

Traditional rules (1917 Code)

Before 1966 every weekday of Lent was a fast day, Fridays and Saturdays of Lent were days of complete abstinence, and the Lenten Ember Days (17, 19 and 20 February 2027) added partial abstinence on the Wednesday and Saturday. Many Catholics still keep some or all of this voluntarily. The Fast Days app shows either discipline on the calendar depending on the tier you choose.

Making a good Lent

The Church names three practices for the season: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Fasting is the one with fixed rules, but the point of the rules is to make room for the other two. A few suggestions that people find sustainable:

Pick one extra penance for the whole season and keep it modest. Giving up something you will actually miss matters more than something dramatic.
Keep the Friday abstinence even on the days it is not strictly required. It is the oldest weekly discipline in Christianity.
Give what you save by fasting to the poor. That is what the early Church did with the money not spent on food.
If you are pregnant, nursing, unwell or under 18, do not fast. Choose a different sacrifice; the Church does not ask you to harm yourself.

Get a reminder on every fast day of Lent

Fast Days marks Ash Wednesday, every Friday of Lent and Good Friday on your calendar and sends a reminder on the morning each one arrives. Choose the modern rules or the fuller traditional discipline. Free, no account.

Download Fast Days free on the App Store

Frequently asked questions

Why does the date of Lent change every year?

Lent is fixed by Easter, and Easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after 21 March. Ash Wednesday is 46 days before Easter Sunday: forty days of fasting plus six Sundays.

Does Lent end on Holy Saturday or Easter Sunday?

Lent ends at the start of the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday. Good Friday and Holy Saturday belong to the Easter Triduum, but the Good Friday fast and the recommended Holy Saturday fast continue until the Easter Vigil.

Can I eat what I gave up on Sundays?

Sundays are not counted among the forty days and have never been fast days. Whether you relax a voluntary penance on Sundays is a matter of personal choice; many people do, many do not.

When is Lent 2028?

Ash Wednesday 2028 is 1 March and Easter Sunday is 16 April.

Dates computed from the Church calendar using the same engine as the Fast Days app. Sources: Code of Canon Law (1983), canons 1249 to 1253; Paul VI, Paenitemini (1966); General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar. This page gives religious guidance, not medical advice.