How can I attend Holy Week and Easter with the Pope in Rome?

By Andrew McGilly, Founder of Bold Pilgrim · Updated 2026-10-08

Times, dates and prices on this page were checked against the official source on 2026-10-08 (Holy See: tickets for papal audiences and liturgical celebrations). They change; confirm before you travel. Reviewed quarterly.

You attend by requesting a free ticket for the liturgies that require one and simply going, early, to those that do not; which is which is announced each year. The Pope normally celebrates Palm Sunday, the Chrism Mass, the Mass of the Lord's Supper, the Good Friday liturgy of the Passion, the Way of the Cross at the Colosseum, the Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday Mass, followed by the Urbi et Orbi blessing. In 2026 the liturgies inside St. Peter's and St. John Lateran were ticketed and very scarce, while the Masses in St. Peter's Square, the blessing and the Colosseum needed no ticket.

Tickets are issued free by the Prefecture of the Papal Household through its online portal; clergy who wish to concelebrate use a separate portal. No one should charge you. The request process is the same as for any other papal Mass.

Americans may also write to the Bishops' Office for United States Visitors to the Vatican, which warns that it cannot request tickets before a liturgy has been announced and that schedules are sometimes confirmed only a few weeks ahead. In 2026 it had no tickets at all to distribute for several of the Holy Week liturgies inside the basilicas.

If you cannot get into a papal liturgy, the same Triduum is celebrated in churches across Rome, including in English at the American parish of St. Patrick's, and in 2026 outdoor screens were provided for some basilica liturgies.

Related questions, answered

Do I need a ticket for Easter Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square?

Not in 2026. That year the U.S. bishops' visitors' office in Rome listed Easter Sunday Mass in the Square and the Urbi et Orbi blessing as needing no ticket, with security checks on entry. The arrangement is announced each year, so check the Prefecture of the Papal Household's portal and the visitors' office page for the current year; tickets, when used, are free.

Source: Bishops' Office for United States Visitors to the Vatican (Pontifical North American College): Lent, Holy Week, and Easter Holy See: tickets for papal audiences and liturgical celebrations

Where can I attend the Easter Triduum in English in Rome?

The U.S. bishops' visitors' office points English speakers to St. Patrick's, the Catholic American parish in Rome, which celebrates the Mass of the Lord's Supper, the Good Friday liturgy and the Easter Vigil without tickets, and to the Venerable English College, which asks visitors to contact it ahead because its church is small. Santo Spirito in Sassia, near St. Peter's, has a regular Sunday Mass in English.

Source: Bishops' Office for United States Visitors to the Vatican (Pontifical North American College): Lent, Holy Week, and Easter

Is St. Peter's Basilica open to visitors during Holy Week?

It remains a working church, but ordinary visiting gives way to the papal liturgies and their preparation, and the pattern differs from day to day. The basilica posts changes to its opening on its own website when papal events require them, and keeps a separate entrance for those coming to pray. The Vatican Museums publish their own closing days; check them for Easter Sunday and Easter Monday in particular.

Source: St. Peter's Basilica (Fabbrica di San Pietro): Opening Hours and Times of Celebrations St. Peter's Basilica: notice of changed opening for 26 and 27 June 2026 (example of how changes around papal events are announced)

How can I attend Holy Week and Easter with the Pope in Rome?

Related questions, answered

Do I need a ticket for Easter Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square?

Where can I attend the Easter Triduum in English in Rome?

Is St. Peter's Basilica open to visitors during Holy Week?

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