Easter 2025: Why the Date Is Especially Late This Year

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — As Lent approaches, many Catholics are already speculating about Easter’s timing, wondering, “Why is Easter so late this year?” In 2025, Easter will be observed on April 20, which is notably near the end of the date range allowed by the Church’s calendar.

The date of Easter varies annually and can fall as early as March 22 or as late as April 25, a span of 34 days dictated by the Latin Catholic Church’s computation methods. According to data analyzed by The Pillar, Easter will land on April 20 just 15 times from 2025 until the year 2524, accounting for three percent of the total Easter dates within that timeframe.

Statistically, given the projected occurrence over the next 500 years, Easter will fall on an earlier date in the vast majority of the years—88% of the time, or 439 out of 500. Thus, it is accurate to say that Easter is particularly late this year.

Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent, will fall 46 days prior to Easter, on March 5 this year. The observance of Lent extends over 40 days, although this period does not include the six Sundays that occur within it. Notably, Ash Wednesday can vary between February 5 and March 10, with this year’s date falling later than 88% of future observed Ash Wednesdays.

To understand why Easter’s date changes each year, one must look back to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, events closely linked to the Jewish festival of Passover, which follows a lunar calendar. Early Christians pondered whether to celebrate Easter on the date of Passover or on the following Sunday, the day of Jesus’ resurrection.

The 14th day of Nisan, marking the start of Passover, can fall on any day of the week. This led to inconsistencies regarding Easter’s celebration, with the so-called “Quartodeciman controversy” emerging in the second century. Disagreement arose between Christian communities in Asia Minor, who celebrated on the 14th of Nisan, and those in the rest of the Roman Empire, who opted for Sunday. St. Polycarp of Asia Minor famously attempted to persuade Pope St. Anicetus in Rome to adopt the earlier date, but he was unsuccessful.

By the early 3rd century, the matter was deemed significant enough that Pope St. Victor I excommunicated those who insisted on the 14th of Nisan. In 325 AD, the Council of Nicea sought to standardize the Easter date, establishing a unified method to find the date as the first Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox, specifically after March 21.

Despite these regulations, variations persisted. The Orthodox Churches use the Julian calendar, which currently places their March 21 equinox on April 3 in the Gregorian calendar, leading to most Orthodox Easter celebrations occurring later than those of Western churches.

In 2025, both Catholic and Orthodox Easter celebrations align on April 20, making it a unique occasion when Christians from different traditions can observe this key celebration together. This synchronization will occur again in 2028, when both branches will commemorate Easter on April 16.

Pope Francis has expressed interest in a unified Easter date, yet past proposals to fix a standard date akin to Christmas have garnered little traction, mainly due to the theological connections between Easter and the astronomical cycles of nature. For the moment, discussions about Easter’s timing remain a source of joy and debate among believers as they look ahead to the upcoming Lenten season.