Palm Sunday 2026
- 20 hours ago
- 1 min read
Today is Palm Sunday, the start of Holy Week and the most important week in the Christian calendar.
At Mildmay Hospital, we mark the day with a special chapel service. Palms are distributed to everyone present, and those that remain are left in the chapel for patients and staff to take as they wish, throughout the week.
Palm Sunday is observed across Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox traditions. It falls on the sixth and final Sunday of Lent, and commemorates Jesus's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Across the world, palm branches are blessed and carried in procession, and many take them home to bless their households.
The day holds a particular tension. The morning's Gospel brings the joyful scene of the crowd welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem. Then, in the same liturgy, we hear the Passion narrative: betrayal, trial, and crucifixion. We are invited to hold both at once. To feel the joy of the procession, and to know what follows. To celebrate the Kingdom of God already present in the world, while working and waiting for its full arrival.
In a world that can feel broken and uncertain, that tension is not abstract. It is lived.
As Holy Week begins, let us give thanks for the ground we have covered in this Lenten season, for the ways new life is already emerging, and for the grace to continue. We are held by a compassionate God.
Wishing everyone in the Mildmay community a holy and meaningful Holy Week.
Sister Bernie
Mildmay Chaplain
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