Good Friday in the Catholic Church is a solemn holy day remembering the arrest, trial, crucifixion, death, and burial of Jesus Christ. Falling on April 3 this year, it is a day of deep reflection on Christ’s sacrifice for humanity’s salvation, marked by fasting, abstinence, and the veneration of the cross, occurring on the Friday before Easter Sunday.
For the 2026 Lenten season leading to Good Friday, Pope Leo XIV has focused on “disarming language” and embracing silence as a form of spiritual sacrifice. He urges the faithful to move beyond fasting from food to fasting from hurtful words, slander, and noise to prepare for the profound reflection of Holy Week.
The pope encourages a “practical and frequently unappreciated form of abstinence: that of refraining from words that offend and hurt our neighbor.”
There will be several opportunities for New Yorkers to participate in Good Friday processions planned throughout the Archdiocese of New York.
East Harlem
The faithful will gather at 12 p.m. at St. Francis de Sales Church on East 96th Street and conclude at St. Paul Church at East 117th Street. In between, participants will also stop at St. Ann-St. Lucy parish on East 110th Street and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel on East 116th Street. Prayers and hymns in the procession will be in Spanish.
Washington Heights
In Washington Heights, a Good Friday procession will start at 5 p.m. at St. Rose of Lima Church on West 165th Street and proceed to Our Lady of Esperanza Church on West 156th Street, and then to St. Catherine of Genoa Church on West 153rd Street. Participants will be praying and singing in Spanish.
Midtown Manhattan
Join Pax Christi Metro New York as they commemorate Good Friday as a modern-day enactment of the Stations of the Cross, praying for peace and justice on the streets of New York. This year, the theme is “Given these times, what would Jesus do/say?” The walk will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. It begins at Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza (47th St. at First Ave.) and proceeds along 42nd Street to between Eighth and Ninth Avenues. Call PCMNY at 212-420-0250 for more information.
Way of the Cross
This annual, ecumenical pilgrimage from St. James Cathedral over the Brooklyn Bridge to Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Shrine at the World Trade Center passes by the Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Shrine in Lower Manhattan. It is supported by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Participants depart from St. James Cathedral in Brooklyn at 10 a.m.