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The Ascension of the Lord

Solemnity

Feast Day
May 14

The Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord celebrates the bodily ascent of the risen Christ into heaven on the fortieth day after the Resurrection (Acts 1:3, 9-11; Luke 24:50-53; Mark 16:19). It is a Holyday of Obligation in the universal Latin Church (Code of Canon Law, c. 1246).

In the United States, the Latin Rite Ordinaries of the ecclesiastical provinces of Boston, Hartford, New York, Omaha, and Philadelphia keep the Ascension on the proper Thursday, the fortieth day after Easter. All other U.S. provinces have transferred the Solemnity to the following Sunday, the Seventh Sunday of Easter, in accord with the decree of the Latin Rite Bishops approved by the Holy See in 1999. In 2026, Easter falls on April 5; the proper Thursday of the Ascension is therefore May 14, and the transferred Sunday is May 17.

The Ascension is a feast of apostolic origin, attested by Saint Augustine (Letter 54.1) as observed throughout the Church from the earliest times. The Acts of the Apostles places the event on the Mount of Olives. The doctrine of the Ascension is professed in the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds: He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

The Ascension is not Christ's withdrawal from the Church but his enthronement as Lord, from which he will come again to judge the living and the dead, and from which, with the Father, he sends the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Catechism of the Catholic Church 659-667). It opens the time of the Church's mission, the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20.

Catholic Churches Named After The Ascension of the Lord

13 parishes on Catholic Church Times share The Ascension of the Lord's name. Find their Mass times, confession schedules, and adoration hours:

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