Vigilantes

As a priest assisting in communion distribution for the Easter Vigil, I and my companions were able to avoid the five hour + wait to get into Saint Peter's. The other perk is reserved seats--in good spots to see what was going on. After arriving in the Eucharistic Chapel, which was our sacristy for the liturgy, we vested in surplices and white stoles over our cassocks. Then we processed out to the entrance of the basilica, where the Easter Candle would be lit. We sat down next to the Swiss Guard who was guarding the candle, with the cardinals and other bishops sitting in front of us.

After Benedict's blessing and lighting of the candle, we processed in to meet something I had never seen before: a completely darkened basilica. You get an even greater sense of its vastness when there is no reassuring light shining down from the lofty arches.

We were seated next to the Sistine Chapel Choir again, but this time several of my classmates and I were in the front row below the baldecino over the main altar. Following the multiple readings and Benedict's homily, the pope brought several new members into the Church through baptism and confirmation, a practice that would be reflected around the world, as the forty days of close preparation in Lent concluded with the grace of Christ's resurrection being applied to those who turned to receive his new life.

The neophytes would soon be able to also receive communion for the first time, as we then turned to the main altar for the Eucharist, with myself and the rest of the assisting priests standing on each side of the main altar. The liturgy had begun at 9:00 PM, and at its conclusion several remarked on how quickly it had seemed to pass, even though it was near 1:00 AM when it concluded.

Happy Easter!