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Easter in Rome 2027: Holy Week Dates, Tickets and Tips
Easter 2027 falls on March 28. Holy Week in Rome day by day, how to get free tickets for the papal Masses, Vatican Museums closures and what to book around Easter.
Easter 2027 falls on Sunday, March 28, which makes Holy Week in Rome run from Palm Sunday, March 21, to Easter Monday, March 29. Above all, it is the week the Pope’s liturgies fill St. Peter’s Square and the Colosseum, and also a week when some of the Vatican’s doors stay closed. Here is how the week works, what is free, and what to book around it.
Updated September 2026. Dates from the liturgical calendar; papal program and ticket rules from the Vatican; museum opening days from the Vatican Museums. All checked in September 2026. The Vatican has not published the 2027 papal program yet; we will update this guide when it does.
Easter in Rome 2027: Holy Week at a glance
| Day | Date | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Palm Sunday | March 21 | Papal Mass in St. Peter’s Square |
| Holy Thursday | March 25 | Chrism Mass in St. Peter’s; evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper |
| Good Friday | March 26 | Celebration of the Passion in St. Peter’s; Way of the Cross at the Colosseum at night |
| Holy Saturday | March 27 | Easter Vigil in St. Peter’s Basilica |
| Easter Sunday | March 28 | Easter Mass in St. Peter’s Square, then the Urbi et Orbi blessing |
| Easter Monday | March 29 | Pasquetta, a public holiday in Italy |
For now, the celebrations in the table follow the structure of the 2026 program published by the Vatican. Later, the official program will give the places and times for 2027.
Papal celebrations at Easter in Rome: 2026 times
The Vatican publishes the Holy Week program a few weeks ahead: in 2026, the notice came out on March 7. For example, these were the 2026 times, all presided over by the Pope.
| Celebration | Where | 2026 time |
|---|---|---|
| Palm Sunday Mass | St. Peter’s Square | 10:00 a.m. |
| Chrism Mass, Holy Thursday | St. Peter’s Basilica | 9:30 a.m. |
| Mass of the Lord’s Supper, Holy Thursday | Basilica of St. John Lateran | 5:30 p.m. |
| Celebration of the Passion, Good Friday | St. Peter’s Basilica | 5:00 p.m. |
| Way of the Cross, Good Friday | Colosseum | 9:00 p.m. |
| Easter Vigil | St. Peter’s Basilica | 9:00 p.m. |
| Easter Mass | St. Peter’s Square | 10:15 a.m. |
| Urbi et Orbi blessing | Central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica | 12:00 p.m. |
How to get tickets for Easter Mass in Rome
Tickets for the Pope’s liturgical celebrations and general audiences are always free, according to the Vatican. Lay visitors request them from the Prefecture of the Papal Household, through the booking system linked from the Vatican’s page on participation in audiences and celebrations. In contrast, priests and deacons who wish to concelebrate use a separate procedure.
- Never pay for a ticket to a papal Mass. A guided tour of the Vatican is not a ticket to the liturgy.
- Request tickets once the program is out: you request them through the Prefecture’s online booking calendar.
- Watch online if you cannot attend: the Vatican streams the Pope’s audiences and celebrations live.
Museums and closures at Easter in Rome
The Vatican Museums close on Sundays, except the last Sunday of each month, when entry is free. That free Sunday does not apply when it coincides with Easter, and in 2027 the last Sunday of March is Easter Sunday: the Museums will not open that day. In 2026, they also closed on Easter Monday and on March 19, the feast of St. Joseph. However, the Museums had not published the 2027 calendar of closures as of September 2026, so check it before you book.
So, in practice, plan your Vatican Museums visit for a weekday of Holy Week, from Monday to Saturday, and book ahead.
What to book for Easter in Rome
We chose the experiences below on Viator for a rating of 4.5 or higher across more than 1,500 reviews, checked in September 2026. None of them includes a ticket to a papal celebration.
The Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s
Affiliate link: Italy2Love earns a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you.
The small-group Vatican tour with the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica uses pre-booked entry tickets and audio headsets, and covers the highlights of the Museums, the Sistine Chapel and the basilica. Therefore, book it for a day the Museums are open: not Easter Sunday. Travelers rate it 4.9 out of 5 across more than 8,000 reviews, and prices start from about $115 (checked September 2026). We compare it with other options on our Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel tour page.
The catacombs and early Christian Rome
The small-group tour of Rome’s crypts and catacombs goes underground to the Catacombs of San Sebastiano or Domitilla, depending on the day, with a stop at the Mausoleum of Cecilia Metella on the Appian Way, and a guide on the history of early Christianity. Overall, it takes about three and a half hours. Travelers rate it 4.8 out of 5 across 1,596 reviews, and prices start from about $64 (checked September 2026).
A Pasquetta day trip to Tivoli
The full-day trip to Tivoli from Rome visits Hadrian’s Villa and the gardens of Villa d’Este, with a guide and coach transport, in about six hours. Travelers rate it 4.5 out of 5 across 1,838 reviews, and prices start from about $99 (checked September 2026). Still, check the dates it runs if you want to go on Easter Monday. See also our Tivoli day trip page and the other day trips from Rome.
The rest of your stay
Finally, plan the city with our Rome travel guide, and see what else is on in Italy through the year in our events guide.
Sources: Easter 2027 date from the liturgical calendar. Holy Week 2026 program from the notice of the Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff, published by the Holy See Press Office on March 7, 2026. Ticket rules from the Vatican’s page on participation in audiences and pontifical celebrations. Opening days and 2026 closures from the Vatican Museums’ official website. All checked September 24, 2026. Experiences: ratings, review counts, prices and inclusions read on each Viator product page (product codes 7559P6, 15693P13 and 3058TIVOLI), checked in September 2026. Featured photo: Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Spending Holy Week outside Rome too? Our guide to Easter in Italy covers the 2027 dates, Florence’s Scoppio del Carro, Good Friday processions in Sicily and what closes on Easter Monday.
Plan the rest of your Easter. Holy Week is intense. Still, it leaves time for some of Rome’s greatest sights.
- St. Peter’s Basilica: free entry, the dress code and the dome climb.
- Vatican Museums tickets: prices, timed entry and what is closed.
- 3 days in Rome: a day-by-day plan by neighborhood.
- Italy in spring: March, April or May, and where to go next.
Rooms fill fast around Easter. Compare places to stay in Rome early.
Affiliate links: if you book through them, Italy2Love earns a commission at no extra cost to you.
In addition, our guide to where to stay in Rome shows which base saves you the most time.
Frequently asked questions
When is Easter in 2027?
Easter Sunday falls on March 28, 2027. Holy Week starts with Palm Sunday on March 21, and Easter Monday, Pasquetta, is March 29.
Do you need tickets for Easter Mass with the Pope?
The Vatican says tickets for the Pope’s liturgical celebrations are always free. Lay visitors request them from the Prefecture of the Papal Household through its online booking system. As a result, be wary of anyone selling them.
When is the Way of the Cross at the Colosseum?
In 2026, the Pope presided over the Way of the Cross at the Colosseum at 9:00 p.m. on Good Friday. Each year, the Vatican publishes the Holy Week program a few weeks before; in 2026, it came out on March 7.
Are the Vatican Museums open at Easter?
Not on Easter Sunday. The Museums close on Sundays, except the last Sunday of the month, and that free opening does not apply when it falls on Easter, as it does on March 28, 2027. In 2026, they also closed on Easter Monday. The Museums had not published the 2027 calendar as of September 2026.
What is Pasquetta?
Easter Monday, a public holiday in Italy. So check opening days before you plan a visit: in 2026, the Vatican Museums closed on Easter Monday.
Book it: experiences for this trip
Matched to this article by place and interest, then ordered by Viator rating and number of reviews (checked September 2026). Prices and availability are shown live on Viator.
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