18/02/2026
Ash Wednesday
- A day of penance when the devout customarily receive ashes in the shape of a cross etched on their foreheads to remind them of their mortality. In Western churches, it occurs six and a half weeks before Easter.
This day marks the beginning of the Lenten season. The Lenten season commemorates the 40-day period of Jesus' fasting in the desert. It is a somber season of penance, abstinence, and fasting.
Sundays are not included in the 40 days of Lent because they are set aside for feasting rather than fasting and penance.
The last day of the 40 days of Lent in the Catholic Church is the Wednesday before Easter, as the next day, Thursday, begins the shortest liturgical season in the Catholic Church: the Easter Triduum, which comprises Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday.
The next day, Sunday is Easter.
Santa Maria Magdalena
- Apostola Apostolorum