2024, 2025 and 2026 Catholic holidays in the United Kingdom

Holding the Cross
Holding the Cross

2024, 2025 and 2026 Catholic Holidays

There is an array of Catholic events and important dates in the UK calendar. For devout Catholics, these are incredibly important and are celebrated in all UK Catholic churches.

When it comes to celebrating these events, many of the more well-known, such as Easter, Christmas and Shrove Tuesday, are widely observed. However, how they are celebrated will largely depend on where in the UK you are. In fact, in large parts of the UK, these holidays are simply an excuse for food and a good party. Other areas, such as Northern Ireland, do take the events more seriously, with churchgoers visiting a church for mass and participating in other special days such as Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and Christmas Eve mass.

In the past, Catholicism was the main religion in the UK. This expanded from England across to all four countries. Part of the reason for this was the fact that the UK was allied with countries like Spain and Portugal, both of which have deeply Catholic roots. However, religion in the UK was primarily dictated by the monarchy. When a new monarch with a different Christian denomination came into power, the balance would inevitably shift.

Nowadays, Catholicism is not one of the most popular religions in the UK, especially in England. Wales. While there are practicing Catholics here, these countries are primarily Anglican, while Scotland identifies as Presbyterian. However, Catholicism still remains a strong part of Northern Ireland’s culture, with a more equal split between Catholics and Protestants. Here, the number of practicing Catholics is larger than anywhere else in the UK.

Photo credits: Public domain (Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God) ; Robin Myerscough / CC-by (Shrove Tuesday) ; Grant Whitty / Unsplash (Ash Wednesday) ; John Baker, CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons (Good Friday) ; cluttercup / CC-by-sa (Easter Monday) ; John Salmon, CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons (Saint George's Day) ; Basher Eyre, CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons (Saint Peter and Paul) ; Photo by Jacob Amson on Unsplash (All Saints) ; julien_ortet / CC-by-sa (Saint Andrew's Day) ; Public domain (The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary) ; Crumpled Fire / CC-by-sa (Christmas Day)