How Christians across the North West will observe lent this season
Ash Wednesday 2026 has arrived, ushering in the 40-day season of Lent that culminates in Easter on April 2, 2026 (ET). Communities across the North West are holding a mix of traditional liturgies, public outreach and new cultural programmes aimed at helping people prepare through prayer, fasting and acts of charity.
What Lent means and how it is observed
Lent — from an old English word meaning "lengthen" — is a period of spiritual preparation recalling the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert. The season is traditionally characterised by prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Many Christians choose to give up a food or indulgence for the six-week period, while others take on additional disciplines or community service projects.
Ash Wednesday marks the start of Lent. In many Roman Catholic and High Anglican parishes, ashes made from last year’s burnt Palm Sunday fronds are applied either as a cross on the forehead or sprinkled atop the crown of the head. The ritual is a visible reminder of human mortality and a call to repentance, often accompanied by phrases such as "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return. " Practices vary by local custom, but the spiritual focus on humility and renewal remains consistent.
Key events across the North West
A number of north-west communities are staging services and public activities during Lent designed to reach both regular worshippers and passers-by.
- In Bolton town centre, diocesan leaders and local clergy will be offering "Ashes to Go" on the street, making the ritual accessible to commuters and shoppers who might not attend a full service.
- St Mary’s in central Manchester will host Stations of the Cross each Friday in Lent following the planned mass; those gatherings are listed at 1: 00 PM ET on the days they occur. The church also runs special Friday evening services throughout the season.
- In Liverpool, cathedral clergy, staff and parishioners are participating in a Big Lent Walk: the community aims to walk, run or stroll 200 kilometres across the 40 days to raise funds for projects that provide clean water in vulnerable communities.
- In the week before Easter, Anglican clergy in central Manchester plan an imaginative public outreach by offering shoe polishing to the public — a symbolic act of service and a practical way to start conversations about faith.
- Blackburn Cathedral is exhibiting a replica of the Turin Shroud during Lent, giving visitors a visual point of reflection on Holy Week themes.
Arts, local adaptations and global practice
The season also features new creative offerings and local adaptations that reflect both traditional devotion and contemporary culture. A new passion play titled "Night Falls" will be staged in Birkenhead on March 6, 2026 at 2: 00 PM ET; the piece counts down to the Crucifixion and aims to engage audiences with a dramatic retelling of Holy Week. In Liverpool, a Lent course inspired by the musical Wicked will run on Thursdays from March 5 through April 2, offering discussion and reflection shaped by film and theatre themes.
Customs around Ash Wednesday differ worldwide. In some countries the ashes are traced as a bold cross on the forehead, while in others they are lightly sprinkled on the top of the head. Both practices share the same theological purpose: an outward sign of an inward commitment to repentance, humility and renewed devotion.
Across the North West this Lent, organisers are blending long-standing liturgical observance with public, accessible acts of service and culture-led programmes. Whether through quiet prayer, communal walks for charity, theatrical retellings of the Passion or simple gestures offered on city streets, the season is shaping up as a time for reflection and outreach en route to Easter on April 2, 2026 (ET).
