sinner, was given the grace to be the first person to see him after his Resurrection. She goes to the tomb to mourn her Lord, whom she loved so much, and receives the word of an angel that he is risen. Jesus himself will not appear in the Gospel until the following day . As with all vigils of feasts , the Credo is not sung. This also represents the fact that, since Christ has not yet appeared to his disciples, they are not yet able to proclaim their faith in the risen Christ.





There is no Offertory Verse. The rest of the Offertory is as usual (pages 63-66). The Gloria Patri is said at the Lavabo for the first time since before Passiontide. The Preface of Easter issays, “Peace be to you” (John 20:19-21). The Church's liturgy thus perfectly reflects her faith and the events of Christ's Passion and Resurrection. In the Easter Vigil, we remember Christ's divine Resurrection and his appearance to the holy women, but his appearance to the apostles and to the multitudes is not celebrated until the next day. Thus, there is no Agnus Dei or kiss of peace. The three prayers before Communion are still said as usual. Communion is distributed to the faithful as usual.





First Vespers of Easter

Like every Sunday and major feast day, the liturgical celebration of Easter begins with first Vespers the evening before. After Communion, first Vespers of Easter is sung. Because the ceremony is already so long, first Vespers is heavily reduced, consisting of only