What Is Ash Wednesday?
Ash Wednesday 2026 marks the first day of the Lenten season. Lent is the liturgical time before Easter when Catholics prepare to commemorate Jesus’s Resurrection through prayer, penance, and fasting.
When Is Ash Wednesday This Year?
Ash Wednesday falls on February 18, 2026, marking the beginning of Lent.
Lent is approximately forty days long. If you count the days from Ash Wednesday to Holy Thursday’s Mass of the Lord’s Supper, you’ll find more than forty days. That’s why it’s not exactly forty days.
Sundays are a part of this period. Some people don’t give up things on Sundays during Lent, and that’s okay because our sacrifices are voluntary. But fasting on Ash Wednesday and not eating meat on Fridays during Lent are mandatory.
Can You Eat Meat on Ash Wednesday?
No. Catholics are required to abstain and fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. The Code of Canon Law says:
Can. 1251: Abstinence from eating meat or some other food according to the prescripts of the conference of bishops is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
Can. 1253: The conference of bishops can determine more precisely the observance of fast and abstinence as well as substitute other forms of penance, especially works of charity and exercises of piety, in whole or in part, for abstinence and fast.
Free Download | Catholic Answers Guide to Lent
Ash Wednesday PDF Guide | Catholic Answers free download.
Free Download | Catholic Answers Guide to Fasting
Fasting PDF Guide | Catholic Answers free download.
Is Ash Wednesday a Holy Day of Obligation?
No, Ash Wednesday is not a Holy Day of Obligation. However, it is one of the most well-attended Masses throughout the entire liturgical year. It marks an earnest beginning to the Lenten season, inviting the faithful to witness to their Catholic faith, and mortality, by receiving ashes on their foreheads.
Ash Wednesday Prayers
Blessing of the Ashes
This prayer is said by the priest when blessing the ashes that will be distributed:
O God, who are moved by acts of humility and respond with forgiveness to works of penance, lend your merciful ear to our prayers and in your kindness pour out the grace of your blessing on your servants who are marked with these ashes, that, as they follow the Lenten observances, they may be worthy to come with minds made pure to celebrate the Paschal Mystery of your Son. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prayer While Receiving Ashes on Ash Wednesday
The priest, deacon, or lay minister, says one of these formulas as ashes are imposed on the faithful:
Repent, and believe in the Gospel.
Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
-Ash Wednesday Prayer for Forgiveness and Conversion
When Does Lent End?
One of the top questions we get during the Lenten season is “When does Lent really end?” So, we put together this quick Q & A.
In the season of Lent, let us embrace the call to penance, prayer, and almsgiving. Through self-discipline and reflection, may we draw closer to the transformative love of Christ, preparing our hearts for the joy of Easter.
History of Lent
What Is Lent?
Lent is a time of spiritual preparation, self-examination, and penance leading up to the celebration of Easter. Catholics use this time to imitate Jesus’ forty days of fasting in the desert.
It is an opportunity for us to deepen our relationship with God, seek forgiveness for sins, and grow in spiritual discipline. Catholics focus on self-denial, prayerful reflection, and charitable acts as a means of drawing closer to God.