The Easter Vigil is the most solemn and ancient liturgy of the Christian year, celebrated on the night before Easter Sunday — Holy Saturday. It begins in darkness and unfolds over several hours, typically starting after sunset and ending before dawn.

The service is structured around four key movements: the Service of Light, where a large paschal candle is lit and its flame passed through the congregation, symbolizing Christ as the light breaking into the darkness of death; the Liturgy of the Word, a series of readings tracing salvation history from Creation through the Exodus to the prophets; the Liturgy of Baptism, where new members are initiated into the Church through baptism and confirmation; and finally the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the first full celebration of Easter Mass.

The Vigil carries profound symbolic weight — the waiting in darkness, the sudden eruption of light, the ringing of bells silent since Holy Thursday, and the proclamation of the Exsultet (the ancient Easter proclamation) all combine to make it a uniquely dramatic and moving act of worship. For many Christians, particularly Catholics, Orthodox, and some Anglicans and Lutherans, it is considered the “mother of all vigils” and the high point of the entire liturgical year.