Good Friday 2028

What this countdown tracks

Good Friday 2028 falls on Friday April 14, 2028 – the day before Holy Saturday and two days before Easter Sunday on April 16, 2028. Because Western and Orthodox Easter coincide in 2028, this is the rare year in which all of global Christianity observes Good Friday on the same date.

About Good Friday

Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ at Calvary outside Jerusalem, as told in all four canonical Gospels. It is the most solemn day of the Christian year – the day of Christ's suffering and death, observed two days before the celebration of his resurrection on Easter Sunday. The English name "Good Friday" derives from an older sense of "good" meaning "holy" (the same usage that gave us "the good book" for the Bible). Other languages name the day more directly through its mood: Karfreitag (sorrowful Friday) in German, Vendredi Saint (holy Friday) in French, Viernes Santo in Spanish, Velikaya Pyatnitsa (Great Friday) in Russian and other Slavic languages.

The Gospels place the Crucifixion narrative on the day before the Jewish Sabbath, after the Passover Seder of the previous evening. Jesus is tried before Pontius Pilate, the Roman procurator of Judea, in the early morning; carries the cross through the streets of Jerusalem (the Via Dolorosa) at midday; is crucified at Golgotha at the third hour (about 9 AM); and dies at the ninth hour (about 3 PM), with darkness covering the land from noon to three. The hours from noon to 3 PM are observed in many traditions as the year's most solemn devotional time.

Good Friday has been observed since the apostolic era. The Egeria pilgrim's diary from around 380 CE describes the elaborate Holy Week observances at the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, including the veneration of the True Cross fragments. The Stations of the Cross – fourteen meditations on Christ's journey from Pilate's court to the tomb – developed in the medieval Western church (especially through Franciscan custodianship of the Holy Land sites) and is now a worldwide Catholic and ecumenical practice.

How it's observed

Good Friday is a day of fasting and abstinence in the Catholic tradition – one main meal, two smaller meals, and abstinence from meat. It is the only day of the liturgical year on which the Eucharist is not celebrated; the Mass is replaced by a special Good Friday Liturgy of the Lord's Passion, observed in the afternoon (traditionally 3 PM), which includes the reading of the Passion narrative from John's Gospel, the solemn intercessions, the veneration of the Cross (in which the faithful approach a cross or crucifix to kiss or touch it in reverence), and the distribution of communion from hosts consecrated on Maundy Thursday.

The morning is traditionally given to the Stations of the Cross – fourteen meditations on Jesus's journey from condemnation to entombment, performed as a procession through the church or outdoors. Many parishes observe a Three Hours' Service from noon to 3 PM with sermons on the seven last words of Christ. The Pope leads a global Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum in Rome on Good Friday evening, broadcast live to a worldwide audience, with meditations written by a different theologian, writer, or community each year.

In Eastern Orthodoxy, Holy Friday includes the Royal Hours (a long morning prayer service combining the four little hours), Vespers with the Apokathilosis (the removal of the body of Christ from the Cross), and the evening Lamentations Service in which the epitaphios (bier of Christ, a richly embroidered cloth depicting the buried Christ) is processed around the church or through the streets, with congregations carrying lit candles.

The Philippines is distinctive for its Good Friday processions: in some communities, devotees voluntarily perform self-flagellation or even reenact the Crucifixion (with limited symbolic nailing) – a folk tradition that the Catholic hierarchy in the Philippines does not endorse but tolerates. In Spain (especially Seville and Málaga), Holy Week processions of pasos (sculpted floats) move through the streets nightly through Holy Week, with the Good Friday processions the most solemn.

Why this date specifically

Good Friday is the Friday of Holy Week – two days before Easter Sunday. In 2028, Easter Sunday falls on April 16 (a coincidence year for Western and Orthodox Easter), so Good Friday falls on April 14. The Western (Gregorian) computus places the first ecclesiastical full moon on or after March 21 on April 9; the following Sunday is April 16 (Easter); Good Friday is therefore April 14. The Orthodox Julian computus produces the same Easter date in 2028, so all of global Christianity observes Good Friday on April 14.

What to watch for / notable observances in 2028

• April 9 – Palm Sunday; processions and blessing of palms
• April 13 – Maundy Thursday; foot-washing in St. Peter's Basilica
• April 14, morning – Stations of the Cross in parishes worldwide
• April 14, midday to 3 PM – Three Hours' Service in Anglican and Lutheran traditions
• April 14, 3 PM – Good Friday Liturgy of the Lord's Passion (Catholic) with veneration of the Cross
• April 14, evening – Pope leads Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum
• Public holiday in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, India, the Philippines, and most of Latin America and the Caribbean
• Major processions in Seville (Holy Week), Antigua Guatemala, Trapani, and Manila
• Coinciding Western and Orthodox observances mean global televised Good Friday liturgies share the same date

Related festivals to track

Good Friday 2028 sits at the heart of Holy Week, between Palm Sunday on April 9 and Easter 2028 on April 16. The Lenten season opened with Ash Wednesday on March 1, 2028. The Christian calendar overview is at the Christian festival hub.

FAQ

When is Good Friday in 2028? Friday April 14, 2028 – with Western and Orthodox Christianity coinciding in their Easter dates that year.

How is Good Friday observed? Through fasting and abstinence, the Stations of the Cross, the Three Hours' Service or Good Friday Liturgy of the Lord's Passion with the veneration of the Cross, and a generally subdued public atmosphere.

Is Good Friday a public holiday? Yes, in the UK, Germany, Ireland, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, India, the Philippines, and most of Latin America and the Caribbean. The US does not observe Good Friday as a federal holiday, though some states do.

What is the typical greeting? Good Friday is a day of mourning – there is no traditional greeting; the day is observed with reflection and silence rather than spoken acknowledgment.