Mass at the Duomo

Mass times by day

The timetable is marked as subject to change, and the Advent pages for 2026 give Sunday Lauds at 10:25. Christmas and Easter have their own schedules, which we leave out until they are officially published.

Which door to use

There are two free ways in, and the time of your Mass decides which.

• Early morning: the side door in the Transept of San Giovanni Bono, open from 6:50 to 8:30. It opens ten minutes before the 7:00 Mass.
• From 8:00 to 19:00: the north door of the façade, with last access at 18:00.

Both are for worship. A tourist visit to the cathedral and the terraces is ticketed, so check the visitor hours if you want to do both on one day.

Two Masses that are not step-free

The cathedral itself is reached by two 20-metre ramps from the square. The 8:30 Mass in the Crypt and the 8:00 Sunday Mass in the Feriale Chapel are different: the official accessibility notes say both spaces are hard to reach because of stairs. A wheelchair user should pick another time.

If you are here as a visitor during a service

Photography stops during celebrations, and the dress rules apply to everyone. Larger celebrations can also shut the tourist route for a whole morning, as on 13 December 2026, with the cathedral and Archaeological Area closed to tourists until 12:30. On a Sunday or feast day, look at the dated changes on the hours page before you buy.

Milan's own rite

The Duomo follows the Ambrosian liturgy, named after St Ambrose, and its calendar does not always match the Roman one. Advent is the clearest case: in the Duomo the First Sunday of Advent falls on 15 November 2026, earlier than in Roman-rite parishes. The cathedral's dedication is kept on the third Sunday of October.

The rarest sight comes in September. On the Saturday, Sunday and Monday closest to 14 September, the Archbishop is lifted about 45 metres in the Nivola, a cloud-shaped lift whose present form dates from 1624, to reach the Holy Nail kept in the vault. Dates for 2027 are not published. The red lamp that marks the relic can be seen on any day.

Confession, quiet prayer and streaming

Confessions are heard near the altar of the Madonna dell'Albero in the left transept: Monday to Saturday 8:00–18:00, and on Sundays and feast days 8:00–11:00 and 16:30–18:00.

The Feriale Chapel is always open for personal prayer. If you cannot get to Milan, Masses are streamed on the Duomo Milano TV channel on YouTube.