Lent 2027: Dates, Fasting Rules and Catholic Prayers

Lent 2027 begins on Ash Wednesday, February 10, 2027, and ends on the evening of Holy Thursday, March 25, 2027, when the Easter Triduum begins. Easter Sunday follows on March 28. Lent is the Church’s forty-day season of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, in which Catholics prepare to celebrate the death and Resurrection of Jesus and to renew their baptismal promises.

Below you will find the calendar of Lent 2027, the rules for fasting and abstinence, the Sunday readings, practical ideas for prayer, fasting and almsgiving, and prayers for the season.

Lent 2027 calendar

Day	2027 date
Ash Wednesday: Lent begins, fast and abstinence	Wednesday, February 10
First Sunday of Lent	February 14
Second Sunday of Lent	February 21
Third Sunday of Lent	February 28
Fourth Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday)	March 7
Fifth Sunday of Lent	March 14
Solemnity of St. Joseph (no abstinence required that Friday)	Friday, March 19
Palm Sunday: Holy Week begins	March 21
Holy Thursday: Lent ends at the evening Mass	March 25
Good Friday: fast and abstinence	March 26
Easter Sunday	March 28

In 2027 the Solemnity of the Annunciation (normally March 25) falls on Holy Thursday, so it is moved to Monday, April 5, 2027, after the Easter Octave.

Why forty days?

Forty is the biblical number of preparation: the flood lasted forty days, Moses spent forty days on Mount Sinai, Israel wandered forty years in the desert, and Jesus fasted forty days in the wilderness before beginning his ministry (Catechism 540). By the forty days of Lent, the Church unites herself to the mystery of Jesus in the desert. The forty days are counted from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday without the six Sundays, which are always days of joy in honor of the Resurrection.

Fasting and abstinence rules for Lent 2027

Rule	Days in 2027	Who
Fasting: one full meal, plus two smaller meals that together do not equal a full meal	Ash Wednesday (February 10) and Good Friday (March 26)	Catholics aged 18 until their 59th year is complete
Abstinence from meat	Ash Wednesday, every Friday of Lent, and Good Friday	Catholics aged 14 and older

Meat means the flesh of warm-blooded animals (beef, pork, chicken, lamb). Fish, eggs, milk and plant foods are allowed.
Friday, March 19, 2027 is the Solemnity of St. Joseph. Because abstinence does not apply on a solemnity (canon 1251), meat is permitted that day, although many keep the Lenten Friday anyway.
Who is excused? The sick, pregnant or nursing women, people with medical conditions and anyone for whom fasting would be harmful. If in doubt, ask a priest.

The details, with canon law, are on our Ash Wednesday 2027 page.

Prayer, fasting and almsgiving

Jesus teaches the three traditional practices of Lent in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:1–18), warning against doing them to be seen by others:

And when you fast, be not as the hypocrites, sad. For they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward.
But thou, when thou fastest anoint thy head, and wash thy face;
That thou appear not to men to fast, but to thy Father who is in secret: and thy Father who seeth in secret, will repay thee.

The prophet Joel’s call, read on Ash Wednesday, sums up the spirit of the season:

Now therefore saith the Lord: Be converted to me with all your heart, in fasting, and in weeping, and in mourning.
And rend your hearts, and not your garments, and turn to the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, patient and rich in mercy, and ready to repent of the evil.

Ideas for prayer

Go to an extra weekday Mass each week.
Pray the Stations of the Cross on Fridays, in your parish or with our interactive Stations of the Cross.
Pray the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary or the Seven Sorrows Rosary.
Read one of the Gospels from beginning to end.
Make a good confession before Easter. See how to go to confession.

Ideas for fasting

Give up something you enjoy: sweets, alcohol, social media, streaming, coffee.
Skip snacks between meals, or one meal a week, and give the money to the poor.
Fast from complaining, gossip or harsh words.
Keep a technology-free hour each evening for prayer and family.

Ideas for almsgiving

Set aside money saved by fasting for a charity or the parish poor box.
Volunteer at a food pantry, shelter or nursing home.
Choose one of the works of mercy each week.
Write to someone who is lonely or in prison.

The Sunday Gospels of Lent 2027 (Year B)

Sunday	Date	Gospel
First Sunday of Lent	February 14	Mark 1:12–15: Jesus in the desert
Second Sunday of Lent	February 21	Mark 9:2–10: the Transfiguration
Third Sunday of Lent	February 28	John 2:13–25: the cleansing of the Temple
Fourth Sunday of Lent	March 7	John 3:14–21: “God so loved the world”
Fifth Sunday of Lent	March 14	John 12:20–33: the grain of wheat

Parishes celebrating the scrutinies with adults preparing for baptism may use the Year A Gospels on the Third, Fourth and Fifth Sundays (the Samaritan woman, the man born blind and the raising of Lazarus).

The Gospel of the First Sunday of Lent:

And immediately the Spirit drove him out into the desert.
And he was in the desert forty days and forty nights, and was tempted by Satan; and he was with beasts, and the angels ministered to him.
And after that John was delivered up, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
And saying: The time is accomplished, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent, and believe the gospel.

Prayers for Lent

A prayer for the beginning of Lent, written for this page:

Lord Jesus, you went into the desert to fast and pray for forty days.
Lead me into this Lent with you.
Teach me to pray with a sincere heart,
to fast from whatever keeps me from you,
and to share what I have with those in need.
Let these forty days make me new,
so that I may celebrate your Resurrection with joy. Amen.

A daily Lenten offering, written for this page:

Lord, I offer you today my prayers, my small sacrifices and my good works,
in union with your sacrifice on the cross,
for the conversion of sinners and for those I love. Amen.

More prayers for the season: Ash Wednesday prayers, the Act of Contrition, the Anima Christi, and the hymns Vexilla Regis and Stabat Mater on our Good Friday page.

Frequently asked questions

When does Lent 2027 start and end?

It starts on Ash Wednesday, February 10, 2027, and ends on Holy Thursday, March 25, 2027, before the evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper. The Easter Triduum follows, and Easter is March 28.

Are Sundays part of Lent?

Yes, the Sundays are “Sundays of Lent,” but they are not fast days, and they are not counted in the forty days. Whether to keep your personal Lenten sacrifice on Sundays is up to you; the Church does not require it.

Can Catholics eat meat on St. Joseph’s Day during Lent?

Yes. In 2027 St. Joseph’s Day (March 19) is a Friday, but because it is a solemnity the law of abstinence does not apply (canon 1251).

Is fish considered meat?

No. Fish and seafood are allowed on days of abstinence. Meat means the flesh of warm-blooded land animals and birds.

What is Laetare Sunday?

The Fourth Sunday of Lent (March 7, 2027), named from the entrance antiphon Laetare, “Rejoice.” Like Gaudete Sunday in Advent, rose vestments may be worn.

Do I have to give something up for Lent?

The Church requires the fast and abstinence described above. Giving something up beyond that is a voluntary but very fruitful custom; adding a good practice is equally valuable (Catechism 1438).

More Lent and Easter pages

Texts and sources

Scripture: Matthew 6:16–18; Joel 2:12–13; Mark 1:12–15, Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner), public domain. Reading references follow the Lectionary for Mass, Lent, Year B.
Code of Canon Law, canons 1249–1253; United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, norms on fasting and abstinence.
Catechism of the Catholic Church, 540 and 1438.
The prayers were written for this page.