(OSV News) — For Lent 2026, a multitude of Catholic leaders and ministries are inviting the faithful to walk with them during this 40-day season of prayer, fasting and almsgiving.
Here are 12 new resources — online retreats, apps, podcasts, books and more — that promise to help Catholics grow in faith and draw closer to the Lord Jesus Christ ahead of Easter.
1. Hallow’s “Pray40: The Return”
This Lent the Catholic prayer app Hallow is presenting an annual Lenten prayer challenge called “Pray40: The Return.” The 40-day experience embraces the theme of returning home to God and to one another while exploring two books: Father Henri Nouwen’s “The Return of the Prodigal Son” and Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “The Brothers Karamazov.”
The challenge includes daily reflections, weekly homily reflections, prayer sessions and interviews that feature faith leaders and well-known actors such as Jonathan Roumie, Sister Miriam James Heidland of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity, Chris Pratt, Father Mike Schmitz and Mark Wahlberg.
“It’s the biggest thing we’ve ever done by far with now well over 1.5 million people joining the challenge, but also I think the most beautiful and powerful,” Alex Jones, CEO and co-founder of Hallow, told OSV News. He added: “May the Lord use it for his glory to bring us all closer to himself.”
For people interested in participating, Hallow offers a free three-month trial.
2. Word on Fire’s “Seeking the Inner Room”
In addition to participating in Hallow’s Pray40, Sister Miriam is leading an online Lenten retreat with Bishop Robert Barron’s Word on Fire ministry.
“The Word on Fire Lent Retreat … is an invitation to a complete and total transformation of the heart,” Word on Fire Institute’s team told OSV News. “Jesus Christ, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith (Heb. 12:2), invites us with him into the desert to discover anew the inner sanctuary, the core of our being — a place reserved for ourself and God alone to which the enemy has no access. It is this ‘inner room’ where we are completely seen and completely known.”
The retreat, “Seeking the Inner Room,” consists of seven videos released each week of Lent.
People who sign up for the retreat at Word on Fire’s website will receive a free 30-day trial to Sister Miriam’s reflections, discussion prompts and prayer activities. People can continue membership for $27 per month.
3. Sisters of Life’s “Let Love” podcast
In collaboration with Catholic multimedia network Ascension, the Sisters of Life are releasing a new season of their podcast, “Let Love,” this Lent.
“This season of ‘Let Love’ is called ‘What do you think about?'” Sister Cora Caeli, one of three sisters on the current season of the podcast, told OSV News. “We will explore the power of thoughts, what shapes our thoughts and how to redirect negative thinking.”
The podcast will also address artificial intelligence and how AI affects the mind during the new season that runs Feb. 23 through March 30. Listeners can tune in through the Ascension app and other platforms, including the sisters’ website.
Sister Cora Caeli added: “I hope that this topic inspires our listeners to invite God into their lives to transform, heal and restore this very place.”
4. Ascension’s “Crux”
Also through Ascension, Father Columba Jordan of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal is offering a daily Lenten challenge called “Crux.” Focused on surrender to God, the program invites Catholics to practice four disciplines: a daily Scripture reading, a nightly examen, a form of physical exercise and a dietary fast.
Crux, which is available through the Ascension app, features daily video reflections from Father Columba and weekly encouragement from Crux ambassadors.
“If Lent is about anything, it’s about learning to trust in God and to rely on him alone, like the Israelites in the desert,” Pat Millea, a Crux ambassador who co-founded a mental health clinic and podcast with his wife, Kenna, told OSV News. “Ascension’s ‘Crux’ challenge is such a great program because it gives people a framework to surrender to God, to open themselves more fully to his love, and to be honest with other people making the journey through the desert with them.”
Crux is available to paid premium app subscribers. Ascension also offers new or returning subscribers full access for 90 days at $4.99.
5. Real Life Catholic’s “Lenten Phone Fast Challenge”
Real Life Catholic, a ministry run by Catholic speaker and author Chris Stefanick, is inviting Catholics to join its “Lenten Phone Fast Challenge.”
To participate, Catholics can sign up at Real Life Catholic’s website and choose a specific phone “fast.” Options include putting away one’s phone after 6 p.m., picking one day each week to be phone free or scroll free, enabling grayscale to make one’s phone less enticing, and deleting all social media apps.
“The Lenten Phone Fast Challenge is an opportunity to choose a truly sacrificial form of fasting from these devices to make room for prayer, silence and authentic renewal of our relationships with our spouse, children and friends,” Real Life Catholic vice president of marketing Matt Paolelli told OSV News. “Participants will offer up their sacrifice for the spiritual protection of the next generation of young Catholics who are struggling to maintain their faith.”
During this challenge, Real Life Catholic encourages participants to not only pray for young Catholics but also financially support CORE, its Confirmation prep project.
6. Father Patrick Mary Briscoe’s “Witness”
Father Patrick Mary Briscoe, a Dominican friar, invites readers to walk with those who witnessed Christ’s passion in his new daily Lenten devotional, “Witness: A Guided Lent Journal for Prayer and Meditation.”
“Come on this journey this Lent, walk the dusty roads of the streets of Jerusalem, step into the courtyards, stand at the foot of the cross and see Christ anew from the perspective of those who saw him,” Father Patrick says in a teaser. “Embrace what they knew, love what they loved and be transformed.”
The book, which opens with a forward by Roumie, focuses on a key virtue each week. Each day presents a quote from the Church Fathers, a meditation, questions for reflection, journaling space and a prayer.
The book by Father Patrick — promoter general for social communication for the Dominican Order, co-host of the “Godsplaining” podcast and former editor of Our Sunday Visitor magazine — is available for purchase from Ave Maria Press for $14.95.
7. Our Sunday Visitor’s “What Christ Suffered: A Doctor’s Journey Through the Passion, Revised and Expanded”
Amid Lent’s focus on Christ’s passion and death on the cross, a scientific and medical account of the passion can help the faithful enter more deeply into meditation on Christ’s great sacrifice.
In “What Christ Suffered,” newly revised and expanded just in time for this Lent, Dr. Thomas W. McGovern offers a fresh perspective on Christ’s suffering and death using ancient Greek and Latin literature about crucifixion, discoveries of ancient images, archaeology, medical reenactment studies and medical case reports.
This book also highlights the teachings of St. John Paul II in “Salvifici Doloris,” meditating on human suffering and offering practical ways to respond to suffering in our lives and the lives of loved ones.
The book is available for purchase from OSV for $32.95.
8. Blessed Is She’s “Who Do You Say That I Am?”
Blessed Is She, a Catholic women’s ministry, is inviting women to encounter Christ through a new Lent devotional called “Who Do You Say That I Am?” The book by Debra Herbeck, a Jewish convert to Catholicism who serves in youth and women’s ministry, includes Scripture reflections, guided prayers, journal prompts and more.
“I’m so eager for women to encounter Jesus this Lent, whether for the first time or all over again,” Beth Davis, director of formation at Blessed Is She, told OSV News. “He wants to dispel the lies we believe (or fear) about him and reveal who he truly is through Scripture.”
“As we look more closely at the ‘I Am’ statements of Jesus in the Gospel of John,” she added, “I hope the women will be able to rest in the perfect love and protection of Jesus.”
Women can purchase a print copy for $28 or digital copy for $15.
9. Augustine Institute’s “The Heart of Prayer”
The Augustine Institute, a Catholic educational apostolate and graduate college, together with the National Eucharistic Congress, is offering a Lenten series called “The Heart of Prayer.”
Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, who serves as chairman of the Bishops Advisory Group for the National Eucharistic Congress, leads the eight-part video series. He provides teaching and reflection on prayer and its role in spiritual life.
“Our hope is that ‘The Heart of Prayer’ inspires the faithful to turn to Scripture and the saints to enrich and to deepen their prayer,” Scott Hefelfinger, a professor and director of content development at the Augustine Institute, told OSV News. “Guided by Bishop Andrew Cozzens, a wise and practical retreat master, viewers will be offered both teaching and practices for renewal and growth in prayerful union with the Lord during this holy season of Lent.”
The episodes are available on Formed, the institute’s faith-formation streaming platform. Individuals can sign up for a free seven-day trial online. Afterward, a subscription costs $9.99 per month.
10. St. Paul Center’s “Bible Across America: Lent”
For Lent 2026, the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, founded by Catholic theologian Scott Hahn, is hosting seven weekly video Bible study sessions. Shane Owens, a St. Paul Center theologian and assistant professor of theology at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, leads the study called “Bible Across America: Lent.” Catholic leaders John Bergsma, Emily Stimpson Chapman, Megan Hjelmstad and Franciscan Father Dave Pivonka join him.
“Our mission at the St. Paul Center is to help Catholics grow into a deeper love and knowledge of Christ through Scripture and Doctrine, and we are praying that with Bible Across America, Catholics can experience the power of encountering Jesus through the Word in community,” A.J. Arand, vice president of marketing and production at the St. Paul Center, told OSV News.
People can join through the center’s website by signing up for a free membership trial that lasts through April 12.
11. The U.S. bishops’ “2026 Daily Lent Calendar”
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is providing a free downloadable 2026 daily Lent calendar at its website. Versions are available in English and Spanish.
The calendar, which runs from Ash Wednesday (Feb. 18) through Easter Sunday (April 5), promises to deepen people’s faith with reflections, calls to action and quotes from Scripture and Pope Leo XIV.
12. Our Sunday Visitor’s “Lenten Prayer for Families” and “OSV Kids Lent Activity Book”
For Catholic families looking to enter into the Lenten season together, “Lenten Prayer for Families” by Colleen Pressprich offers a way for parents and children to dive deep into Scripture every day of Lent, with meditations on a daily Scripture reading, a discussion of what the Scripture means for everyday life and illustrations approachable to young children. The book includes weekly verses for memorization and suggestions to help families customize daily Lenten reflections into their busy schedules.
For children ages 5 to 8, “OSV Kids Lent Activity Book” offers fun and educational activities to help young kids learn about the season of Lent. Various word games, hidden image activities and small projects guide children through the central concepts surrounding the liturgical season of penitence and sacrifice, Christ’s crucifixion and the glory of his resurrection.
“Lenten Prayer for Families” is available for purchase from OSV for $21.95, and “OSV Kids Lent Activity Book” is available for $14.95.
Katie Yoder is an OSV News correspondent. She writes from Maryland. OSV News culture editor Lauretta Brown contributed to this story.
