diff --git a/docs/settings.rst b/docs/settings.rst
index e690da0..04b146b 100644
--- a/docs/settings.rst
+++ b/docs/settings.rst
@@ -74,6 +74,12 @@ however it may be overridden if Pub/Sub resources live in a different project.
 
 optional; string; Google only
 
+**GOOGLE_PUBSUB_MAX_LEASE_DURATION_S**
+
+The maximum amount of time in seconds to hold a lease on a message before dropping it from the lease management. Defaults to 3600s (1 hour).
+
+optional: int; default: 3600; Google only
+
 **GOOGLE_PUBSUB_READ_TIMEOUT_S**
 
 Read from PubSub subscription timeout in seconds
diff --git a/hedwig/backends/gcp.py b/hedwig/backends/gcp.py
index 7b0a62a..dc36ff3 100644
--- a/hedwig/backends/gcp.py
+++ b/hedwig/backends/gcp.py
@@ -263,6 +263,7 @@ def pull_messages(  # type: ignore[return]
         flow_control: FlowControl = FlowControl(
             max_messages=num_messages,
             max_duration_per_lease_extension=visibility_timeout or DEFAULT_VISIBILITY_TIMEOUT_S,
+            max_lease_duration=settings.GOOGLE_PUBSUB_MAX_LEASE_DURATION_S,
         )
 
         for subscription_path in self._subscription_paths:
diff --git a/hedwig/conf/__init__.py b/hedwig/conf/__init__.py
index bc63b46..3d87b6a 100644
--- a/hedwig/conf/__init__.py
+++ b/hedwig/conf/__init__.py
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@
     'GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS': None,
     'GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT': None,
     'GOOGLE_PUBSUB_READ_TIMEOUT_S': 5,
+    'GOOGLE_PUBSUB_MAX_LEASE_DURATION_S': 3600,
     'REDIS_URL': None,
     'HEDWIG_CALLBACKS': {},
     'HEDWIG_CONSUMER_BACKEND': None,