Holy Week and Easter 2026

Holy Week is a time of deep reflection, as we accompany Jesus on his journey to the Cross, mark his death at Calvary on Good Friday, and finally experience the joy of his resurrection at Easter, the most important festival of the Christian year.

We warmly invite you to join us for services and events throughout this season, including the creation of a beautiful Easter Garden outside the Cathedral—an enduring symbol of resurrection and new life.

Preacher in Holy Week

Canon Anna Macham will be this year’s Holy Week preacher and will give the addresses at the Eucharist of the Last Supper on Maundy Thursday, the Good Friday Devotion and Liturgy and the Easter Vigil on Easter Day.

Palm Sunday, 29 March

08:00 Holy Communion

09:00 Font Service

09:15 Morning Prayer

10:30 The Eucharist with Procession of Palms from Choristers’ Green

This service begins on Choristers’ Green, where palm crosses are distributed and blessed, before moving to the West Front of the Cathedral, recalling the procession of Jesus into Jerusalem on a donkey. In the service, we also hear the account of Jesus’ betrayal and abandonment, crucifixion and death from the Gospel according to Matthew.

16:30 Choral Evensong

Monday of Holy Week, 30 March

07:30 Morning Prayer

07:50 Holy Communion

17:30 Choral Evensong sung by the Lay Vicars

19:30 Compline sung by the Lay Vicars

with reflections on this year’s Lent Lectures theme ‘What is Truth’

Tuesday of Holy Week, 31 March

07:30 Morning Prayer

07:50 Holy Communion

12:00 Holy Communion

16:00 Said Evening Prayer

17:30 Young People’s Stations of the Cross

Wednesday of Holy Week, 1 April

07:30 Morning Prayer

07:50 Holy Communion

17:30 Choral Evensong

19:30 Sarum Tenebrae: A Service of Shadows sung by Salisbury Cathedral Chamber Choir

A service traditionally held during Holy Week with candles which are gradually extinguished, finishing in total darkness. This year the service will feature a new commission of nine compositions by Piers Kennedy, sung by the boy choristers and Lay Vicars.

Maundy Thursday, 2 April

07:30 Morning Prayer

07:50 Holy Communion

11:00 Eucharist of the Chrism and Re-affirmation of Vows

Celebrating ministry and service, the Chrism Eucharist is an opportunity for the clergy and everyone to renew their commitment to Christian service as the clergy renew their ordination vows. The Bishop leads this service, and blesses oils for use in ministry in the following year.

17:30 Choral Evensong

19:30 The Eucharist of the Lord’s Supper

Recalling Jesus’ last supper with his disciples, this service, beginning with a mood of intimacy, ends with the stripping of the altar and a procession to the Garden of Repose which recalls the Garden of Gethsemane.

21:00 – 00:00 The Watch of the Passion

In this quiet period interspersed with readings from the Passion, Christians keep vigil as did Christ the night of his crucifixion.

Good Friday, 3 April

07:30 Morning Prayer

09:30 Family Service (Location: St Thomas’ Church)

A service aimed at families and young children that tells the story of Good Friday.

10:30 Walk of Witness

Starting at the Cathedral’s West Doors, churches from across the city gather to share a service together, carrying a large cross with songs and prayers to different stations in the city and concluding at the Guildhall. Lasts about one hour in total.

12:00 Good Friday Devotion sung by the Cathedral Chamber Choir

Through prayer, music, silence, and a series of addresses, we reflect on the suffering and death of Jesus and what it means for us. This year’s Devotion explores the meaning of the cross through the music of female composers throughout the ages.

13:30 The Liturgy of Good Friday

The traditional liturgy enables us to accompany Jesus from his trial, to his death on the cross, and burial in the tomb.

Holy Saturday, 4 April

The Cathedral is empty of all decoration for silent prayer. Visitors to the Cathedral on this day will be invited to spend a few moments of quiet reflection.

08:30 Morning Prayer

10:00 – 16:00 Meditation and Prayers

16:30 Evening Prayer

Easter Day, 5 April

04:30 The Easter Vigil and Readings in the Chapter House

05:30 The Easter Liturgy starting outside the West Front

At the end of the Easter Vigil, we move outside for the ‘sun arising in the East’. We kindle a fire, from which the Easter candle is lit, then enter the still-dark Cathedral and raise the candle as a sign of Jesus’ rising. New members of the church are baptised and confirmed.

08:00 Holy Communion

09:00 Font service

10:30 The Eucharist with Blessing of the Easter Garden

The Easter Garden is blessed, and we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and the empty tomb.

15:00 Festal Evensong

The Easter Garden

5 April until 8 June

Our popular Easter Garden will return to outside the Visitor Entrance into the Cloisters. The vision of Hampshire-based horticultural designer Andy McIndoe, the Mediterranean plants will draw visitors back to the landscape and story of Jesus. Three crosses and a sealed tomb will remind us of his sacrificial death and burial on Good Friday before the stone is rolled aside and the tomb opens on Easter Sunday as we recall Jesus’ defeat of death and promise of salvation. The garden will continue throughout the season of Eastertide.

Stations of the Resurrection

In the Cathedral Close, from 1 April

Explore the Cathedral grounds to encounter a series of readings, prayers and reflections to take us deeper into the Easter story.