Liturgical Calendar 2026-2027: Every Key Date and Colour by Tradition
Advent begins 29 November 2026, Easter is 28 March 2027 and the lectionary moves to Year B. Every major feast and season with its colour for Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran and Methodist churches.
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The liturgical year 2026–27 begins on the First Sunday of Advent, 29 November 2026, and ends with Christ the King on 21 November 2027. Easter falls early, on 28 March 2027, so Ash Wednesday is 10 February and Pentecost is 16 May. The Catholic Sunday lectionary and the Revised Common Lectionary both move to Year B, the year of Mark’s Gospel. This page lists every major date with its liturgical colour for Catholic, Episcopal and Anglican, Lutheran and Methodist churches, so a sacristan, altar guild or pastor can plan the year on one sheet.
Dates are for the Western calendar. Where the Catholic Church in the United States moves a feast to Sunday, both dates are given. Your diocese, province or synod may publish its own ordo with local feasts; follow it where it differs.
The rest of the current year (2025–26)
| Date | Day | Colour |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday 1 November 2026 | All Saints. In the Catholic Church it replaces the Sunday this year. | White (gold for festivals in many Anglican parishes) |
| Monday 2 November | All Souls (Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed) | Violet or black; white is also permitted in the United States |
| Sunday 22 November | Christ the King / Reign of Christ, last Sunday of the year | White or gold; red is also allowed in Church of England use |
Between All Saints and Advent, many Church of England parishes keep the Kingdom season in red. Lutheran churches mark Reformation Day on 31 October in red; in 2026 it falls on a Saturday, so many congregations kept Reformation Sunday on 25 October.
Key dates and colours, 2026–27
| Date | Feast or season | Catholic | Episcopal / Anglican | Lutheran (ELCA) | United Methodist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 29 Nov 2026 | First Sunday of Advent | Violet | Blue or violet | Blue | Purple or blue |
| Tue 8 Dec | Immaculate Conception | White | White (where kept) | Not generally kept | Not generally kept |
| Sat 12 Dec | Our Lady of Guadalupe (US) | White | Not generally kept | Not generally kept | Not generally kept |
| Sun 13 Dec | Third Sunday of Advent (Gaudete) | Rose or violet | Rose, blue or violet | Blue | Purple, blue or pink |
| Fri 25 Dec | Christmas Day | White or gold | White or gold | White | White or gold |
| Sun 27 Dec | Holy Family (Catholic) / First Sunday of Christmas | White | White | White | White |
| Fri 1 Jan 2027 | Mary, Mother of God / Holy Name | White | White | White | White |
| Sun 3 Jan (US Catholic); Wed 6 Jan | Epiphany | White | White | White | White |
| Sun 10 Jan | Baptism of the Lord | White | White | White | White |
| From Mon 11 Jan | Ordinary Time / Season after Epiphany | Green | Green | Green | Green |
| Tue 2 Feb | Presentation of the Lord (Candlemas) | White | White | White | White |
| Sun 7 Feb | Transfiguration Sunday (last Sunday after Epiphany) | Green (Catholic keeps the Transfiguration on 6 Aug) | White | White | White |
| Wed 10 Feb | Ash Wednesday | Violet | Violet or Lenten array | Purple or black | Purple or black |
| Sun 14 Feb | First Sunday of Lent | Violet | Violet or Lenten array | Purple | Purple |
| Sun 7 Mar | Fourth Sunday of Lent (Laetare) | Rose or violet | Rose or violet | Purple | Purple |
| Fri 19 Mar | St Joseph | White | White | White | Not generally kept |
| Sun 21 Mar | Palm Sunday / Sunday of the Passion | Red | Red or crimson | Scarlet or purple | Purple or red |
| Thu 25 Mar | Maundy Thursday (evening) | White | White or red | Scarlet or white | Purple or white |
| Fri 26 Mar | Good Friday | Red | Red, black or none | None (bare) | Black or none |
| Sun 28 Mar | Easter Day | White or gold | White or gold | White or gold | White or gold |
| Sun 4 Apr | Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy) | White | White | White | White |
| Mon 5 Apr | Annunciation (moved from 25 Mar, which falls in Holy Week) | White | White | White | Not generally kept |
| Thu 6 May (Sun 9 May in most US Catholic dioceses) | Ascension | White | White | White | White |
| Sun 16 May | Pentecost | Red | Red | Red | Red |
| Sun 23 May | Trinity Sunday | White | White | White | White |
| Thu 27 May (Sun 30 May in the US) | Corpus Christi | White | White (where kept) | Not generally kept | Not generally kept |
| Fri 4 Jun | Sacred Heart | White | Not generally kept | Not generally kept | Not generally kept |
| From Mon 17 May | Ordinary Time / Season after Pentecost | Green | Green | Green | Green |
| Tue 29 Jun | Sts Peter and Paul | Red | Red | Red | Not generally kept |
| Fri 6 Aug | Transfiguration | White | White | White | Not generally kept |
| Sun 15 Aug | Assumption (Catholic) / St Mary the Virgin | White | White or blue | White | Not generally kept |
| Tue 14 Sep | Holy Cross | Red | Red | Red | Red |
| Sun 31 Oct | Reformation Sunday | Not generally kept | Not generally kept | Red | Red (where kept) |
| Mon 1 Nov | All Saints | White | White or gold | White | White |
| Tue 2 Nov | All Souls | Violet, black or white (US) | White, violet or black | Not generally kept | Not generally kept |
| Sun 21 Nov | Christ the King / Reign of Christ | White | White or gold (red allowed in CofE) | White | White or gold |
| Sun 28 Nov 2027 | First Sunday of Advent, 2027–28 begins | Violet | Blue or violet | Blue | Purple or blue |
“Not generally kept” means the day is absent from that tradition’s main calendar or is kept only locally. Methodist and Lutheran congregations differ widely in how many minor feasts they observe.
Which lectionary year is 2026–27?
- Catholic Sunday cycle: Year B, reading mainly from Mark, with John 6 on several summer Sundays.
- Catholic weekday cycle: Year I, used in odd-numbered years.
- Revised Common Lectionary (Episcopal, Anglican, ELCA, United Methodist, Presbyterian and others): Year B.
- Church of England Common Worship: Year B for the principal service.
Season by season
Advent: 29 November to 24 December 2026
Four Sundays, with the Fourth Sunday of Advent on 20 December. Catholic churches use violet, with rose permitted on Gaudete Sunday, 13 December. Many Episcopal, Lutheran and Methodist churches use blue. Our article on Advent purple or blue explains why, and rose vestments covers Gaudete and Laetare.
Christmas: 25 December 2026 to 10 January 2027
White or gold throughout. In the United States the Catholic Epiphany is kept on Sunday 3 January, and the Baptism of the Lord on Sunday 10 January closes the season.
Ordinary Time after Epiphany: 11 January to 9 February
Green. Because Easter is early, this first stretch of Ordinary Time is only about four weeks, so green vestments come out briefly and return in May. See green vestments in Ordinary Time.
Lent and Holy Week: 10 February to 27 March
Violet, with rose permitted on Laetare Sunday, 7 March. Some Anglican churches use unbleached Lenten array instead. Red is worn on Palm Sunday, white on the evening of Maundy Thursday, and red (Catholic) or none (many Lutheran and Methodist churches) on Good Friday.
Easter: 28 March to 16 May
Fifty days of white or gold, ending with red on Pentecost. The Annunciation, displaced from Holy Week, is kept on Monday 5 April.
Ordinary Time after Pentecost: 17 May to 27 November
Green, broken by white feasts (Trinity, Corpus Christi, Sacred Heart, Transfiguration, Assumption, All Saints) and red ones (Peter and Paul, Holy Cross, Reformation Sunday). It ends with Christ the King on 21 November 2027.
Planning vestments for the year
An early Easter compresses the spring. In practical terms for 2026–27:
- Check Advent vestments by early November. Violet or blue is needed from 29 November, and rose for 13 December. See our Advent vestments.
- White and gold for Christmas follow four weeks later; Christmas vestments should be in hand by mid-December.
- Lent begins on 10 February, earlier than most years, so violet and rose are needed by the end of January. See Lent vestments.
- Red for Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Pentecost all fall within eight weeks; check the condition of red sets in February. See red vestments.
If a parish owns only one set per colour, our guide to what is in a vestment set explains what each set should include, and the liturgical colour guide on the shop summarises the rules.
Common questions
When does the liturgical year 2026–27 begin?
It begins on the First Sunday of Advent, 29 November 2026, and ends on Saturday 27 November 2027, the day before the next Advent begins. The last Sunday of the year is Christ the King, 21 November 2027.
What liturgical year is 2027?
For Sundays it is Year B in both the Catholic lectionary and the Revised Common Lectionary, reading mainly from Mark. The Catholic weekday readings are in Year I.
When is Ash Wednesday and Easter in 2027?
Ash Wednesday is 10 February 2027 and Easter Day is 28 March 2027, so Palm Sunday is 21 March and Pentecost 16 May.
What is the liturgical colour for Palm Sunday?
Red in the Catholic Church and in most Episcopal and Anglican churches. Lutheran churches use scarlet or purple, and many Methodist churches purple or red.
What colour is Pentecost?
Red, in every Western tradition, for the fire of the Holy Spirit. In 2027 Pentecost is Sunday 16 May.
Where can I find the official calendar for my church?
Catholics should follow the ordo published by their bishops’ conference and diocese (in the United States, the USCCB liturgical calendar). Episcopal, Anglican, Lutheran and Methodist churches publish their own calendars and lectionary tables, which list local and minor feasts this summary leaves out.
