By Harry Nara · Last updated
- Good Friday, Via Crucis at the ColosseumFriday 26 March 2027
- Easter Sunday Mass and Urbi et OrbiSunday 28 March 2027
- Where
- St Peter’s Square and the Colosseum
- Tickets
- Free
- Time of year
- March or April
- Dates
- Move by a day or two each year
Easter moves with the paschal moon, so Holy Week can fall anywhere from late March to late April. The Vatican publishes the exact hour of each celebration only a few weeks ahead; the pattern below has held for years but confirm the times on the Holy See calendar before you build a day around one.
The single most useful thing to know is that you do not need a ticket for most of it. The Via Crucis at the Colosseum on Good Friday is open to anyone who turns up. The Urbi et Orbi blessing needs nothing. The outdoor Masses in St Peter’s Square have large unticketed standing areas, and Via della Conciliazione behind them carries big screens. Tickets exist, they are free, and they buy you a seat rather than entry. People who assume the week is closed to them stay away for no reason.
What Easter at the Vatican actually is
The eight days from Palm Sunday to Easter Monday, during which the Pope celebrates five Masses and presides over several other liturgies. Palm Sunday opens with a procession into St Peter’s Square behind tens of thousands of olive branches. Holy Thursday brings the chrism Mass in the morning and the Mass of the Lord’s Supper in the evening. Good Friday takes the Way of the Cross out of the Vatican entirely and up to the Colosseum after dark. The Easter Vigil runs late on Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday ends with the blessing from the central balcony of the basilica.
Where to watch Easter at the Vatican
- The Colosseum on Good Friday, and this is the pick. Fourteen stations, torchlight, and a text written afresh each year. No ticket, no reservation, no list: you walk up and find a place. It is one of the very few papal occasions genuinely open to all comers, and it is the most atmospheric hour of the week. Positions on the slope towards the Arch of Constantine fill first.
- The standing area in St Peter’s Square for the outdoor Masses. Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday are celebrated in the open square, and the ticketed seating occupies only part of it. Behind and around it there is unticketed standing room with a clear view of the altar platform and the screens. Security opens several hours before, and the queue forms along the colonnade.
- Via della Conciliazione, for the Urbi et Orbi. The blessing comes from the central balcony after the Easter Mass, and the avenue running back towards the river is where most people watch it. Nothing is checked, screens carry the liturgy, and you can arrive far later than you could for the Mass itself.
- Santa Maria Maggiore and the other papal basilicas, for the quiet version. The three basilicas outside the Vatican keep the full Holy Week liturgy with a fraction of the crowd. If what you want is the music and the ritual rather than the Pope, this is the better week you can have, and you can walk in.
- A parish church in Trastevere or Monti, for the honest recommendation. Every church in Rome keeps the same days. Neighbourhood Holy Thursday and Good Friday services draw local families and almost no visitors, and the Roman tradition of walking between seven churches on Holy Thursday evening is best done here rather than at the Vatican.
Tickets and what it costs
Nothing costs money. Tickets are issued free by the Prefecture of the Papal Household and are for seating at specific celebrations, not for entry to the square. Requests go by post to the Prefecture at 00120 Vatican City State, or by email or fax, and the Vatican asks for them well in advance rather than in the final weeks. Successful applicants collect in person from the Swiss Guards at the Bronze Doors, under the right-hand colonnade, on the day before. A request is not a booking: demand for Easter exceeds the seats by a wide margin and many are turned down. Anyone selling you a papal ticket is selling you something the Vatican gives away.
Official information and booking: www.vatican.va/content/vatican/en/special/2026/settimana-santa2026.html
Getting there
Ottaviano on Metro A is the usual approach to the Vatican, about a ten minute walk down Via Ottaviano to the square, and Cipro is the quieter alternative. Expect road closures across the whole Borgo on the big mornings and allow far longer than the map suggests. For the Via Crucis, Colosseo on Metro B puts you at the foot of the hill, but the station gets crowd-controlled after the ceremony and walking one stop to Circo Massimo or Cavour is usually faster than waiting. Taxis cannot get near either site while the closures are up.
Mistakes worth avoiding
Assuming the whole week is ticket-only
This is the belief that keeps most visitors away, and it is wrong. The Via Crucis needs nothing at all. The outdoor Masses have unticketed standing areas. The Urbi et Orbi is open to the avenue. Tickets buy a seat, not entry, and a request is not a guarantee.
Booking the Vatican Museums for Easter Sunday or Monday
They are closed on both, Sistine Chapel included, and the Museums follow the Holy See’s calendar rather than Italy’s. Good Friday and Holy Saturday they are open and extremely busy. Book the earliest entry slot of Holy Week rather than the end of it.
Arriving at the Colosseum shortly before the Via Crucis starts
The ceremony begins after dark and runs about ninety minutes, but the good ground goes hours earlier and the surrounding streets close. Come in daylight, bring something warm, and accept that you will stand.
Treating St Peter’s Basilica as a normal visit that week
Security queues run long, the basilica closes entirely around the papal liturgies, and the interior is given over to preparation for much of the day. If seeing the basilica calmly matters, do it before Palm Sunday or after Easter Monday.
Requesting tickets a fortnight out
Easter and Christmas are the two most heavily requested celebrations of the year. The Prefecture asks for requests months ahead, and late ones are simply not reached. If you are inside a few weeks, plan around the unticketed options instead, which are the better experience anyway.
Other Rome events
Frequently asked questions
Do you need a ticket for Easter at the Vatican?
Not for most of it. The Via Crucis at the Colosseum on Good Friday requires no ticket and no reservation. The Urbi et Orbi blessing from the balcony requires nothing. The outdoor Masses in St Peter’s Square are ticketed for the seated area only, with unticketed standing room behind it and screens along Via della Conciliazione. Tickets are free and buy a seat, not admission.
How do you get free Vatican tickets for Holy Week?
Through the Prefecture of the Papal Household, by post to 00120 Vatican City State or by email or fax. Ask months ahead rather than weeks. Successful requests are collected in person from the Swiss Guards at the Bronze Doors under the right-hand colonnade, usually the day before. No agency or tour operator can obtain them faster, and nobody should be charging you for one.
Are the Vatican Museums open over Easter?
They are open through Holy Week on the usual weekday hours, and extremely busy, but closed on both Easter Sunday and Easter Monday, Sistine Chapel included. The Museums keep the Holy See’s calendar rather than Italy’s, so check their own opening days before planning around them.
What is the Via Crucis at the Colosseum?
The Way of the Cross, fourteen stations walked and read by torchlight on the Good Friday evening, with the Pope presiding and a meditation text written fresh each year. It happens outside the Vatican, on the slope between the Colosseum and the Palatine, and it is free and open to anyone. It ends with the Apostolic Blessing.
Is Easter a good time to visit Rome?
It is the busiest week of the Roman spring and the most expensive, and it is also the one week the city does the thing it is most famous for. If you want Rome quiet, come in the weeks either side. If you want the ceremonies, accept the crowds and book accommodation months ahead, because Holy Week and the Easter Monday holiday together fill the centre.
What happens on Easter Monday in Rome?
Pasquetta is a national holiday and Romans traditionally take a picnic out of the city or into the big villa parks. Shops and offices close, transport runs a holiday timetable, and the Vatican Museums are shut. The historic centre is calmer than the days before it, which makes it a surprisingly pleasant day to walk.
Sources
- The Holy See, Holy Week celebrations
- Holy See Press Office, daily bulletin
- Vatican Museums, opening days and closures
Dates on this page are checked against the organiser’s own listing and confirmed through 2027. Written and maintained by Harry Nara.