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easter vigil

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Speaking at his Easter vigil service in an almost empty St Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis has urged people not to “yield to fear” over coronavirus, calling on them to be “messengers of life in a time of death”.

Members of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholic community could follow a live stream of the service.

Lockdown measures are still in place across Italy, hard hit by the pandemic.

Italy’s PM Giuseppe Conte praised the leader of the Roman Catholic Church for his “gesture of responsibility” in marking Easter without a congregation.

Catholic Christians around the world are celebrating Easter, the most important festival in the Christian calendar, despite the restrictions that have left hundreds of millions confined to their homes. Many priests are conducting services in churches without congregations.

Image source: Vatican Media

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Pope Francis recalled the Biblical account of a woman finding Jesus’s tomb empty on the day Christians believe he rose from the dead.

He said: “Then too, there was fear about the future and all that would need to be rebuilt. A painful memory, a hope cut short. For them, as for us, it was the darkest hour.”

“Do not be afraid, do not yield to fear: this is the message of hope. It is addressed to us today,” the Pope added.

The Pope’s service, normally held in front of thousands of worshippers, was attended by only around a couple of dozen people. Several traditional features were also scaled back, including the baptism of converts.

On April 12, the Pope will give his Easter Sunday address at a ceremony behind closed doors. Historically it has been given to crowds in St Peter’s Square.

Speaking at his Easter vigil service in an almost empty St Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis has urged people not to “yield to fear” over coronavirus, calling on them to be “messengers of life in a time of death”.

Members of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholic community could follow a live stream of the service.

Lockdown measures are still in place across Italy, hard hit by the pandemic.

Italy’s PM Giuseppe Conte praised the leader of the Roman Catholic Church for his “gesture of responsibility” in marking Easter without a congregation.

Catholic Christians around the world are celebrating Easter, the most important festival in the Christian calendar, despite the restrictions that have left hundreds of millions confined to their homes. Many priests are conducting services in churches without congregations.

Pope Francis recalled the Biblical account of a woman finding Jesus’s tomb empty on the day Christians believe he rose from the dead.

He said: “Then too, there was fear about the future and all that would need to be rebuilt. A painful memory, a hope cut short. For them, as for us, it was the darkest hour.”

“Do not be afraid, do not yield to fear: this is the message of hope. It is addressed to us today,” the Pope added.

The Pope’s service, normally held in front of thousands of worshippers, was attended by only around a couple of dozen people. Several traditional features were also scaled back, including the baptism of converts.

On April 12, the Pope will give his Easter Sunday address at a ceremony behind closed doors. Historically it has been given to crowds in St Peter’s Square.

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Easter Vigil, also called the Great Vigil of Easter or the Paschal Vigil, is a service held in traditional Christian churches as the first official celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus.

Many Christians observe Easter Sunday a little differently than Catholics do.  For lots of churches, the peak celebration is Easter Sunday, maybe even a service at sunrise.

The Great Vigil of Easter, when observed, is the first service of Easter. It is celebrated at a convenient time between sunset on Holy Saturday and sunrise on Easter Morning. Easter Vigil

The Easter Vigil liturgy is the most beautiful liturgy in the Roman Catholic Church. This walks through the Easter Vigil, and includes the words to the Exsultet.

Although celebrated Holy Saturday evening, it is the dramatic Easter vigil liturgy that marks the beginning of Easter. We are awaiting our master’s return with our lamps full and burning, so that he will find us awake and seat us at his table (cf. Luke 12:35ff). All Catholics should try to attend this beautiful service. The vigil is divided into four parts:

  1. Service of Light,
  2. Liturgy of the Word,
  3. Liturgy of Baptism, and
  4. Liturgy of the Eucharist.

We have been preparing for Easter through forty days of Lent, culminating in the Easter Triduum:  Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Vigil of Easter on Saturday night.  All that waiting and preparation peaks when we gather on Saturday night for a solemn vigil.

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