Forgotten Customs of the Octave of Pentecost, by Matthew Plese

The Forgotten, Yet Ancient Vigil of Pentecost

The Feast of Pentecost (i.e., White Sunday) is one of the principal feasts in the life of the Church. After Pentecost Sunday and its Octave, we will conclude Pascaltide and begin the Season after Pentecost. Consequently, the Vigil of Pentecost has been a day of required fasting and abstinence for centuries and it was kept as such even through the early 1960s. Catholics should fast and partially abstain from meat on the Vigil of Pentecost to better prepare themselves to celebrate Pentecost.

The Vigil of Pentecost used to be celebrated in a manner like the Easter Vigil with Old Testament prophecies, the blessing of the font, the Litany of the Saints, and the Mass. Sadly, the Vigil of Pentecost was suppressed entirely in 1956 and has only recently been re-discovered by Catholics seeking to restore our practices that were lost even in the years preceding Vatican II. For a PDF copy of the prayers and readings for the ancient Pentecost Vigil, please click here. ….