Archbishop Pérez to lead Ash Wednesday Mass; liturgy streamed online for faithful
Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez will lead the Ash Wednesday Mass at 12:05 p.m. on February 18, 2026, at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Philadelphia. The event marks the beginning of Lent for Catholics in the region.
The Mass will be streamed live on Facebook and Vimeo, made possible by support from the Catholic Charities Appeal. Additional Masses are scheduled for 7:15 a.m. and 5:15 p.m., with a Spanish-language service at 7:00 p.m.
Ashes will be distributed to parishioners across more than 200 parishes in the five-county Archdiocese. These ashes serve as a symbol for Catholics to reflect, repent, and renew their faith during Lent through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
“The Bishops of the United States prescribe, as a minimal obligation, that all persons who are fourteen years of age and older are bound to abstain from eating meat on Ash Wednesday, on all the Fridays of Lent and Good Friday. Further, all persons eighteen years of age and older, up to and including their fifty-ninth birthday, are bound to fast by limiting themselves to a single full meal on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, while the other two meals on those days are to be light. Keeping a voluntary fast throughout Lent is encouraged.”
Opportunities for confession will be available at set times throughout Lent at the Cathedral Parish and individual parishes may offer additional times.
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia serves over 1.3 million Catholics across five counties in Pennsylvania through its network of more than 200 parishes and agencies offering social services such as Nutritional Development Services and Catholic Social Services (https://archphila.org/). The Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul acts as its main worship site (https://archphila.org/).
Nelson Pérez has served as archbishop since his installation in 2020 (https://archphila.org/). The archdiocese functions as a metropolitan see within the Roman Catholic Church structure (https://archphila.org/) and was established in 1808 before being elevated in 1875 (https://archphila.org/).
The live stream broadcast for Ash Wednesday is sponsored by Catholic Charities Appeal. A clean feed for media coverage will also be provided outside the cathedral.
