Mass at the House of Virgin Mary: Times, Feasts and Groups

Yes, you can attend Mass at the House of Virgin Mary: from May to October it is celebrated every day at 10:30 a.m. at the outdoor altar beside the house, and from November to April on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. in the Betania Chapel and on weekdays at 5:30 p.m. inside the house itself. Those are the times on the shrine's own published schedule, which we checked in November 2026.

The shrine on Bülbül Mountain is cared for by a Capuchin community, and anyone may come to Mass; Christian and Muslim visitors often pray side by side here. Below are the times for each season, what happens at Christmas, Easter and on 15 August, and how a group traveling with its own priest asks for a Mass of its own.

Can you attend Mass at the House of the Virgin Mary?

Yes. Anyone can attend Mass at the House of the Virgin Mary near Ephesus. From May to October it is celebrated daily at 10:30 a.m. outdoors beside the house; from November to April, Sundays are at 10:30 a.m. in the Betania Chapel and weekdays at 5:30 p.m. inside the house.

Mass at House of Virgin Mary: times through the year

Last reviewed: November 2026. Written by our guide team from the shrine's own Mass & Prayers page. One caution: the shrine's home page still carries an older line with different times, so before a special trip, confirm with the shrine itself.

The grounds are open from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., so the 5:30 p.m. weekday Mass in winter comes at the very end of the visiting day. The summer Mass at 10:30 a.m. falls in mid-morning, when the mountain is busier than at opening time.

Sunday Mass at the House of Mary: what to expect

From May to October, Sunday Mass is the same as any other day's: 10:30 a.m. at the open-air altar. It stands under a white canopy on a terraced garden beside the path, a few steps before the house, where the shrine's priests celebrate for large groups and on Mary's feast days. Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Mass at this shrine in November 2006.

In winter, Sunday Mass moves indoors to the Betania Chapel. Come a little early either way: you pass the gate on the mountain road first, then walk up a short paved path with a few steep stretches.

Visitors from other churches and other faiths are welcome to attend and pray, and Holy Communion follows Catholic practice. Photography is not permitted inside the chapel, and during Mass it is kind to put the camera away altogether.

Christmas Mass at the House of Virgin Mary

Christmas is kept on the mountain with a service on Christmas Eve. Turkish newspapers reported it in 2017 and 2018: the resident priest led it, visitors passed a gendarmerie security check before entering the service area, pilgrims walked in prayer along a lit path to the chapel, and blessed bread was handed out at the end.

The shrine does not post its Christmas times online; its Christmas page carries no schedule. If you hope to be there on 24 or 25 December 2026, write to the shrine in early December and ask for the time and place. Christmas is an ordinary working day in Türkiye, and the Ephesus ruins open as on any other winter day.

Easter 2027 at the House of the Virgin Mary

Easter Sunday falls on 28 March 2027 for Catholics and Protestants, and on 2 May 2027 for the Orthodox, so Holy Week runs from Palm Sunday, 21 March, to Holy Saturday, 27 March. Late March is still on the winter timetable, when Sunday Mass is at 10:30 a.m. in the Betania Chapel, but the shrine does not publish its Holy Week or Easter times online, and feast-day times can differ from ordinary ones.

Easter has been kept here before: in 2016 a Turkish newspaper reported an Easter service at the house led by the shrine's priest, with hymns sung in English and painted eggs handed out afterward. For a parish pilgrimage around Easter 2027, write to the shrine early in the new year and ask about the Triduum and Easter Sunday.

15 August: the Feast of the Assumption

The great day of the year is 15 August, the Feast of the Assumption, when pilgrims fill the terraces and the clergy concelebrate at the outdoor altar. It is an old habit on this mountain: long before the house was identified in 1891, Christians from the village now called Şirince walked up here every August for the feast of Mary's Dormition.

The day is shared with Muslim neighbors who honor Meryem Ana too. When a researcher visited in 2006, the shrine's Capuchin chaplain described how the feast had been arranged around that: a liturgy of the Word at 10:30 a.m. open to everyone, a blessing and sharing of fresh fruit, then a Catholic Mass at noon. Arrangements change from year to year, so check the current program, and expect crowds and summer heat either way.

How does a group or visiting priest reserve a Mass?

Groups traveling with their own priest can ask to celebrate at the shrine. The people to ask are the Capuchin community that runs it, through the shrine's contact page. This is how we suggest going about it:

• Write early. At least eight weeks ahead, and earlier for Holy Week, Christmas or August. Give the date, the size of the group, the language of the Mass and the name of the priest.
• Let the shrine set the time and place. Its own schedule comes first, so ask which time and which altar it can offer, and plan the rest of the day around the answer.
• Bring a celebret. Under canon 903 of the Code of Canon Law, a priest the rector does not know is permitted to celebrate if he shows a letter of introduction from his bishop or religious superior issued within the past year.
• Book the Rosary separately. If the group also wants to pray the evening Rosary at the shrine, that needs its own reservation.
• Tell us. Once the shrine confirms, send us the time and we build the day around it.

Our Biblical Ephesus tour usually begins at Mary's House while the mountain is still quiet. Because the day belongs to your group alone, we can just as easily time it around the 10:30 a.m. Mass or the slot the shrine gives your priest, then walk Paul's city afterward.

Other Mass celebrations in Ephesus related to Mary and John

Mary's House is not the only place where Christians gather around Mary and John. In the city below, the ruined Church of Mary is where the Council of Ephesus met in 431 and named Mary Theotokos, the Mother of God. On Ayasuluk Hill in Selçuk, the Basilica of Saint John stands over the tomb tradition gives to the Evangelist. Both are archaeological sites, so a Mass or service in either is possible only by arrangement made well in advance, not on the day.

Orthodox Christians keep their own date at Saint John's. On 8 May, the feast of Saint John the Theologian, the Divine Liturgy has been celebrated among the basilica's ruins: Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria presided in 2018, and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in 2019. Our story of John and Mary in Ephesus explains why tradition brings both of them here, beginning with "Behold thy mother" (John 19:27).

What to wear to Mass at the House of the Virgin Mary

Shoulders and knees covered, for men and women alike: it is a working place of prayer. A light scarf over a summer top is enough, and for the 5:30 p.m. Mass on a winter evening a warm layer helps on the mountain. Our page on the House of Virgin Mary dress code covers the rest, including shoes for the marble of Ephesus on the same day, and our guide to the House of Virgin Mary tells its story.