The Easter Vigil at the Cathedral of Notre-Dame

Those who have thegood fortune to spend their 2014 Easter holidays in Paris can take part the culminating event of the celebrations of Holy Week, the Easter Vigil at the Cathedral of Notre-Dame Cathedral, in the heart of Paris. The celebration will begin at 9pm on April 19, and will be officiated by the Archbishop of Paris. The rite of the Easter Vigil begins with the blessing of the fire and the lighting of the Easter candle in front of Notre-Dame. If you are spending the Easter holidays in a Paris B & B you might want to go to Notre Dame and wait for the arrival dawn and the first rays of light onits Gothic walls to turn on your torch along with the other faithful.

Gradually the church will be lit to start the liturgy with readings from the Old and New Testament, from silence to the word and from the word to the sound of the bells of Notre-Dame ringing out the glory in celebratation of the resurrection of Christ. After the liturgy of the fire and the word, there will be the blessing of the baptismal liturgy and blessing of the Easter candle and the baptism of adults wishing to convert to Christianity.

The Easter Vigil is celebrated in all places of worship and is an important moment in the Christian religion, lived in the name of renewal and rebirth. Easter in Paris means not only losing oneself in the "grandeur" of the French capital, but also experiencing Easter in a French symbol of Christianity.