Public holidays · 2026
Holy Saturday falls on Saturday, April 4, 2026 in Vatican City in 2026.
A public holiday across Vatican City: most employees have the day off.
In 2026 it falls on a Saturday, a weekend day; check whether a substitute day is given.
The date changes from year to year.
Saturday and Sunday · A public holiday does not always close every business. Essential services, shops and some industries keep working, and pay rules differ by country and contract.
Holy Saturday is the last day of Holy Week and of Lent. It commemorates the day on which Jesus lay in the tomb, and in the Catholic Church it is a day of quiet waiting, with no Mass during the day. The Easter Vigil is held after nightfall, with the blessing of a new fire, the lighting of the paschal candle, readings that tell the story of salvation, and the baptism of new Christians. In Catholic churches the bells and the organ, silent since Maundy Thursday, return during the Gloria of the vigil, and this moment is often the most dramatic of the service.
In the Orthodox churches, Holy Saturday is called Great and Holy Saturday, and the morning service already begins to turn to the resurrection, with bay leaves scattered in many Greek churches. The midnight service in Bulgaria, Serbia and other Orthodox countries is the heart of the festival: worshippers carry candles, walk around the church three times and greet one another with the Easter greeting. In many Orthodox countries, families spend the day colouring eggs, baking Easter bread and preparing food for the baskets that will be blessed after the midnight service, so the day is busy at home, even though it is quiet in the streets.
Everywhere in Vatican City.
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Questions
A public holiday across Vatican City: most employees have the day off.
Saturday, April 4, 2026.