The Easter Vigil is a ceremony that takes place late in the evening and is the night before Easter Sunday. An Easter fire is kindled, the Paschal Candle is lit, and Catechumens receive the sacraments of Baptism, First Communion, and Confirmation. The Easter Vigil, also called the Paschal Vigil or the Great Vigil of Easter, is a liturgy held in Christian churches as the first official celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus. Historically, it is during this liturgy that people are baptized and adult catechumens are received into full communion with the Church. Held in the hours of darkness between sunset on Holy Saturday and sunrise on Easter Day, usually in the evening of Holy Saturday.
Typically, the Easter Vigil is long because the Paschal Candle is lit ceremoniously and passed through the church through small candles held by those in attendance. The Liturgy of the Word consists of 2-7 readings from the Old Testament. The account of the Israelites' crossing of the Red Sea is never read, since this event is at the center of the Jewish Passover. Each reading is followed by a psalm or biblical canticle. After these readings finish, the altar candles are lit and the Gloria is sung for the first time since before Lent, and the church bells and the organ, silent since that point on Holy Thursday, are sounded again. The Alleluia is also sung for the first time since before Lent and the Gospel of the Resurrection, Matthew 28:1-10; Mark 16:1-8 or Luke 24:1-12 follows, along with a homily. The Liturgy of the Eucharist continues as usual and the Easter Vigil is the first mass of Easter Sunday.
According to the rubrics of the Roman Missal, the Eucharist should finish before dawn. The Baptismal Font is blessed and any catechumens are initiated into the Catholic Church, and the congregation is blessed with Holy Water. Every parish does the Easter Vigil slightly differently, but all Roman Catholic Churches proceed similarly. The Easter Vigil celebrates the end of Lent and Jesus’s resurrection.