Easter Vigil Mass at St. Mary's Cathedral

"And on the third day,
he rose again..."


On Holy Saturday the Church is, as it were, at the Lord's tomb, meditating on his passion and death, and on his descent into hell, and awaiting his resurrection with prayer and fasting.

After sunset, the Church celebrates the Easter Vigil. A vigil is the liturgical commemoration of a notable feast, held on the evening preceding the feast. The term comes from the Latin word vigilia, which means "wakefulness," and which came to be used when the faithful stayed awake to pray and do devotional exercises in anticipation of the feast. Easter Vigil is the vigil held on the evening before Easter.

The full meaning of Vigil is a waiting for the coming of the Lord.The resurrection of Christ is the foundation of our faith and hope, and through Baptism and Confirmation we are inserted into the Paschal Mystery of Christ, dying, buried, and raised with him, and with him we shall also reign.