Ambrosian Rite (also sometimes called the Milanese rite) named after Saint Ambrose, bishop of Milan in the fourth century, is a Catholic rite practised by approximately five million inhabitants in north-western Lombardy, Italy (with the only exclusion of the city of Monza) and part of Canton Ticino, Switzerland, and including the regional capital city of Milan. It shows differences during the Mass, and some parts of the liturgical year have different durations: Advent is of six Sundays instead of four as in the Roman calendar, and there is no Ash Wednesday, as Lent starts on Sunday, so the Ambrosian Carnival ends 4 days later, on "sabato grasso" (fat Saturday), instead of "mardi gras" (fat Tuesday). During the middle ages, after Roman Catholic priests were forbidden to marry, Ambrosian priests were still allowed to marry, but this difference ended after some two hundred years.

Related Topics

• Ambrosians
• Ambrosian Catholic Church