Thanks to the generosity of the Catholic Charities Appeal, the Mass will be streamed live via
Facebook.com/ArchPhila and vimeo.com/event/2470138.
Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez will be the principal celebrant and homilist at the 12:05 p.m. Ash Wednesday Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul on Wednesday, February 18, 2026.
Blessed Ashes will be distributed to the faithful in over 200 parishes throughout the five-county Archdiocese on this day. The ashes form a tangible symbol of the call for Catholics to repent and deepen their relationship with Christ through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving in the Season of Lent. Those practices are central to the observance of Lent in preparation for the celebration of the Sacred Paschal Triduum.
Wednesday, February 18, 2026
12:05 p.m.
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
18th Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Additional Masses will be celebrated at 7:15 a.m. (Chapel) and 5:15 p.m. (Basilica). There will also be a Mass in Spanish celebrated at 7:00 p.m. (Chapel).
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.
The Cathedral Parish will offer the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation on weekdays at 11:30 a.m. (Basilica), Saturdays at 4:15 p.m. (Basilica) and Sundays at 9:00 a.m. (Basilica), 12:00 Noon in Spanish (Chapel) and 5:30 p.m. (Basilica). Likewise, individual parishes throughout the Archdiocese may have alternative dates and times for this Sacrament in addition to already scheduled times.
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Editor’s Note: The 12:05 p.m. Mass with Archbishop Pérez on Ash Wednesday will be streamed live via the Archdiocesan Vimeo Channel (https://vimeo.com/event/2470138) and Archbishop Pérez’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/ArchbishopPerez). The live stream broadcast is sponsored by the Catholic Charities Appeal.
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For Ash Wednesday Mass, a press audio/video mult-box clean feed will be provided in the Cathedral parking lot with multiple HD-SDI video (BNC) and mic/line (XLR) connections. Crews will need a live truck or recording device.
The clean feed will also be streamed live at vimeo.com/event/5616412.
Please contact Daniel Kearns with any technical questions regarding the broadcast at 215-888-0305 (cell).
About the Catholic Charities Appeal
The Catholic Charities Appeal (CCA) is the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s single most important fundraiser benefiting hundreds of thousands of people through countless organizations and ministries in the Archdiocese. Gifts made to the CCA will provide support needed to beneficiaries grouped into five key areas of focus: Social Services, Evangelization, Special Education, Mission Parishes, and Retired and Infirm Priests.