Catholics celebrated Easter Vigil in the Holy Night at St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on Saturday, marking what Pope Francis in his homily said was the moment when “the divine light of the Resurrection begins to shine” and “the Lord’s Passover from death to life takes place as the sun is about to rise.”
Still recovering from his bout with pneumonia, the Holy Father delegated the liturgy to be celebrated by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, who read the pope’s homily during the Mass.
Hundreds of clergy were in attendance, including nearly three dozen cardinals.
Clergy are assembled for the Easter Vigil at St. Peter’s Basilica, Saturday, April 19, 2025. Credit: Zosia CzubakA priest distributes Holy Communion during the Easter Vigil at St. Peter’s Basilica, Saturday, April 19, 2025. Credit: Zosia CzubakA crucifix is held aloft during the Easter Vigil at St. Peter’s Basilica, Saturday, April 19, 2025. Credit: Zosia CzubakA member of the Swiss Guard is seen during the Easter Vigil at St. Peter’s Basilica, Saturday, April 19, 2025. Credit: Zosia CzubakThe Paschal Candle is seen during the Easter Vigil at St. Peter’s Basilica, Saturday, April 19, 2025. Credit: Zosia CzubakCardinal Giovanni Battista Re presides over the Easter Vigil at St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Saturday, April 19, 2025. Credit: Zosia CzubakThree catechumens are seen during the Easter Vigil at St. Peter’s Basilica, Saturday, April 19, 2025. Credit: Zosia Czubak
The Catholic News Agency (CNA) Staff is a team of journalists dedicated to reporting news concerning the Catholic Church around the world. Our bureaus are located in Washington, D.C., and Rome. We have sister language agencies in Kenya, Germany, Peru, Brazil, and Italy. CNA is a service of EWTN News. You can contact us at news@catholicna.com with questions.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.