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Pope Francis held the Vigil Pascală on Saturday night, and the lack of believers due to the restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic was evident when the Holy Father served almost alone in the huge St. Peter’s Basilica, the dpa reports.
At the table where the Resurrection of Jesus is celebrated, only a handful of dignitaries and believers were present, in a church that can receive thousands of visitors. Certain parts of the liturgy were served in abbreviated form. For the ceremony, the crucifix of Saint Marcellus was installed, a cross from a church in central Rome, revered for ending a plague in the 16th century and which has been exhibited at other recent papal events.
Pope Francisco
- After the Sabbath was past ”(Matthew 28: 1) the women went to the grave. Thus began the gospel of this holy vigil on Saturday. It is the day of the Easter Triduum that we neglect the most, being caught by the burning expectation of passing from the cross of Friday to that of Hallelujah on Sunday. This year, however, we perceive Holy Saturday more than ever, the day of great silence. We can reflect the feelings of women that day. Like us, they had in their eyes the drama of suffering, of an unexpected tragedy that happened in a hurry. They saw death and had death in their hearts. Pain was accompanied by fear: would they have the same end as the Master? And then, fears for the future, all to be redone. Wounded memory, suffocated hope. For them, it was the darkest hour for us.
- Tonight we conquer a fundamental right that will not be taken from us: the right to hope. It is a new living hope that comes from God. It is not a simple optimism, it is not a beating on the shoulder or an occasional stimulus, with a passing smile. No, it’s a godsend that we couldn’t get on our own. Everything will be fine, we say with courage these weeks, joining the beauty of our humanity and making words of encouragement come out of our hearts. But, with the passing of days and growing fears, even the most daring hope can evaporate. Jesus’ hope is different. It puts the heart in the certainty that God knows how to convert everything for good, because even from the grave He makes life come out.
- How beautiful it is to be Christians who comfort, who bear the burdens of one another, who encourage: proclaimers of life in times of death! In every Galilee, in every region of humanity to which we belong and which belongs to us, because we are all brothers and sisters, let us carry the hymn of life! Let’s silence the screams of death, come to war! To stop the production and the arms trade, because we don’t need bread, nor children! To end abortions, which kill innocent life! Let the heart of the one who has it open fill the empty hands of those in need.
Pope Francis’ Easter Night service has undergone significant changes and is conducted without the participation of believers. First, the Easter Vigil schedule changed, starting at 9:00 p.m., half an hour later than originally scheduled, according to Vatican Radio.
Later, the place has changed, even if it remains in the liturgical space of the basilica: it is no longer celebrated in the Altar of the Confession of Peter, under the artistic canopy raised over the tomb of Peter, but in the Altar of the Chair.
Finally, changes were also made during the celebration: the ceremony of light and the blessing of the new fire takes place near the Altar of Confession, not in the atrium of the place of worship, and the few participants will no longer have candles in your hands to light the Easter Candle. ; the acclaimed acclamation “The Light of Christ!” it will set the rhythm of the illumination of the lights inside the basilica; to the hymn “Gloria!” the bells will begin to ring, bringing the good news of the Resurrection to the seven hills of the Eternal Fortress at night.
The same sobriety and in the celebrations of Easter Sunday, April 12, 2020. According to custom, during the morning, the Pope celebrated the Liturgy in Piazza San Pietro, and at 12.00, he went to the central balcony of the basilica to receive the Easter message and the blessing “Urbi et Orbi”.
The context of the pandemic has brought important changes here. Thus, Pope Francis celebrates Holy Mass at 11.00 am in the Altar of the Cathedral of St. Peter’s Basilica. The gospel of the resurrection is proclaimed, as usual, in Greek and Latin. At the end of the Liturgy, around 12.00, the Pope goes to the sacristy, where he leaves his liturgical vestments, then returns to the basilica and goes to the Altar of Confession, from where he transmits “Urbi et Orbi” the Easter message and the apostolic blessing, accompanied by the indulgent gift. Full.
Source: Vatican Radio
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