Easter Vigil Start Times

45 minutes after sunset 
This year, the celebration of the Easter Vigil occurs on Saturday, March 30, 2024.
In order to insure sufficient darkness, at least 45 minutes (preferably one hour) should elapse after sunset; before the Vigil may begin.
 
The following sample is the listing of the time of sunset in key parishes in our Diocese (from East to West), and the earliest the Easter Vigil should begin there. Parishes to the North and South of these locations would use similar times.
 

During the night…
The Roman Missal states that “the entire celebration of the Easter Vigil must take place during the night, so that it begins after nightfall and ends before daybreak on Sunday.”
 
Not an anticipated Mass…
The Circular Letter Concerning the Preparation and Celebration of the Easter Feasts, which expressed concern that in some places the Easter Vigil “is celebrated as if it were an evening Mass, in the same way and at the same time as the Mass celebrated on Saturday evening in anticipation of Sunday.” The Congregation then reiterated the rubric in the Roman Missal and added, “This rule is to be taken according to its strictest sense. Reprehensible are those abuses and practices which have crept in many places in violation of this ruling, whereby the Easter Vigil is celebrated at the time of day that is customary to celebrate anticipated Masses.”
 
A true vigil…
Some of the difficulties with the scheduling of the Easter Vigil may be due to a lack of understanding about the unique character of the Easter Vigil. This celebration is not merely an “anticipated Mass” on a Saturday evening (which may begin any time after Vespers) nor is it a “midnight Mass,” or simply a “sunrise service.” Rather, it is a true vigil as the Church keeps watch throughout the night. Keeping vigil in earlier centuries meant lighting the lamps at sundown, watching prayerfully throughout the night and celebrating the Eucharist just before sunrise. Today, we begin in darkness as we wait and we celebrate the Light of Christ, which shatters the darkness.