Holy Week

Holy Week is the last week of Lent and the most concentrated week of the liturgical year. It begins with Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord and ends on Holy Saturday, before the Easter Vigil. The Sacred Paschal Triduum is not a separate season placed after Holy Week. It begins inside Holy Week, on the evening of Holy Thursday, and continues through Easter Sunday.

Palm Sunday joins two movements. The entrance procession recalls Jesus entering Jerusalem to shouts of “Hosanna.” The Mass then proclaims the Passion. The same crowd that welcomes the King will soon call for his death. Catholics hold blessed palms as a reminder that discipleship includes both praise and the Cross.

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of Holy Week are still Lenten weekdays, with their own readings of the approaching betrayal and anointing. The Chrism Mass, when the bishop blesses the holy oils, is often celebrated on Holy Thursday morning, though a diocese may move it earlier in the week so priests can gather.

From the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper onward, the Church stops counting these days as ordinary Lenten ferias. Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil are one liturgy unfolded in three days. Holy Saturday morning is quiet: the altar is bare, and the Church waits at the tomb.