How do you plan Easter 2027 in Rome and get tickets for the papal Masses?

Holy Week 2027 in Rome, day by day

• Palm Sunday, 21 March: the Pope leads the Palm Sunday procession and Mass in St Peter's Square in the morning.

• Holy Thursday, 25 March: the Chrism Mass in St Peter's Basilica in the morning; the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper, at a location the Vatican announces each year.

• Good Friday, 26 March: the Celebration of the Lord's Passion in St Peter's in the afternoon, then the Via Crucis at the Colosseum after dark.

• Holy Saturday, 27 March: the Easter Vigil in St Peter's Basilica in the evening.

• Easter Sunday, 28 March: Easter Mass in St Peter's Square in the morning, followed at noon by the Urbi et Orbi blessing from the central balcony of the basilica.

• Easter Monday (Pasquetta), 29 March: a national holiday; Romans head out for picnics, and the Pope recites the Regina Caeli at noon.

The Vatican publishes the exact times in its calendar of papal celebrations a few weeks ahead. Past years put Easter Mass at about 10 or 10:30am and the Via Crucis at about 9:15pm, but confirm the 2027 times on the official Vatican calendar before planning your day around them.

How to get free tickets for the papal Masses

Tickets for the Palm Sunday, Holy Week and Easter liturgies are issued free by the Prefecture of the Papal Household. Request them through the Prefecture's official channel, which accepts written requests (historically by fax or through its own online form) and opens requests a couple of months ahead. Name the celebration, the date and the number of people. Requests through your home parish or diocese often go through more smoothly.

Collection is in person, normally the day or two before at the Bronze Door, under the colonnade on the right side of St Peter's Square, through the Swiss Guard. Bring the confirmation and ID. Tour companies sell "guaranteed" packages that are really a guide plus queuing; the ticket itself costs nothing.

Without a ticket you can still watch: giant screens line Via della Conciliazione, and for Easter Sunday the square's open areas fill from early morning. Expect security checks at the entrances to the square, so arrive at least two to three hours early and carry little. For the Urbi et Orbi only, arriving by about 10am usually gets you into the square or onto Via della Conciliazione.

Good Friday at the Colosseum

The Via Crucis, the Way of the Cross, is held around the Colosseum on the evening of Good Friday, with readings at fourteen stations and candles held by the crowd. It is free and needs no ticket, but the area around the Colosseum is closed off for security and the monument itself usually closes early in the day to prepare. If you have Colosseum tickets that week, avoid Good Friday afternoon. Stand along Via dei Fori Imperiali or on the Colle Oppio side for a view.

What is open and closed over Easter

• Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel: closed Easter Sunday and Easter Monday. They are also usually closed on Sundays except the last of the month, so 28 March is a double reason. Book Holy Week Saturday or the week before, and expect it to sell out.

• St Peter's Basilica: open, but tourist access is limited around the liturgies. Dress code applies strictly: covered shoulders and knees. See what to wear in Italy.

• Colosseum, Forum, Palatine: normally open on Easter Sunday and Monday, with the Good Friday closure noted above.

• Shops and restaurants: many shops close on Easter Sunday; restaurants open but book Easter lunch, a big family meal in Italy. Pasquetta is busy everywhere outdoors, including the Appian Way and parks.

• Transport: the metro and buses run reduced holiday timetables, and Vatican-area stations and streets get extremely crowded on Sunday morning.

Hotels, prices and crowds

Easter is one of Rome's peak weeks: European school holidays overlap and pilgrim groups fill the city. Hotels near the Vatican (Prati, Borgo) are convenient for early starts but sell out first; Trastevere and the area around Termini are alternatives. Book by January for late-March 2027. Rome charges a city tourist tax per person per night on top of the room rate; our Italy tourist tax by city page has current rates.

Late March weather in Rome is mild, with typical highs in the mid to high teens °C (around 60 to 65°F) and some rain, so bring a layer for long waits in St Peter's Square. See best time to visit Italy for the full calendar.

If you want a different Easter

Rome is about the papal liturgies. If processions are what you are after, Spain's Holy Week in Seville and Málaga falls on exactly the same dates in 2027 and is a completely different experience: see our Semana Santa 2027 guide. In Italy, Florence's Scoppio del Carro (the exploding cart in front of the cathedral) happens on Easter Sunday morning, and Sicily and southern towns hold their own Good Friday processions.

Frequently asked questions