Byzantine Holy Week Schedule in Rome

If you are planning on being in Rome for Holy Week during this Jubilee year, you should certainly make an effort to attend services in the Byzantine Rite at the church of St Anthony the Abbot on the Esquiline Hill, the Russian Greek-Catholic church in urbe. The quality of the music there is always very high, but for Holy Week and Easter, the choir is joined by a group from Switzerland, the “Romanos der Melode Chor”, and the music is among the finest to be heard not just in the Eternal City, but I dare say, in the world. Here is the full schedule from Lazarus Saturday (April 12) to St Thomas Sunday (April 27); the church is located at via Carlo Cattaneo 2A, less than a minute’s walk from Santa Maria Maggiore.

April 12, Lazarus Saturday

– Matins, 8:00 am
– Divine Liturgy, 10:00 am

– All-night Vigil of Palm Sunday, 6:00 pm

April 13, Palm Sunday

– Divine Liturgy, 10:00 am
– Great Vespers, 6:00 pm

April 14, 15 & 16 Great and Holy Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday

– Bridegroom Matins, 8:00 am
– Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, 6:00 pm

April 17, Great and Holy Thursday

– Matins, 8:00 am

– Vespers and Divine Liturgy, 10:00 am
– Matins of the Twelve Passion Gospels, 8:00 pm

April 18, Great and Holy Friday

– Royal Hours, 10:00 am
– Vespers 3:00 pm
– Matins of Holy Saturday (Jerusalem Matins) 8:00 pm

April 19, Great and Holy Saturday

– Vespers and Divine Liturgy, 10:00 am
– Readings of the Acts of the Apostles and the Midnight Office 9:00 pm
– Procession, Paschal Matins and Paschal Hour, Divine Liturgy, beginning at 10:00 pm (The Divine Liturgy starts around 12:30am.)

April 20, Easter Sunday

– Divine Liturgy, 12:30am (see above)
– Paschal Vespers, 6:00 pm

April 21, Easter Monday
– Matins, 8:00 am
– Divine Liturgy, 10:00 am

April 26 (Saturday)

Great Vespers of St Thomas Sunday, 6:00 pm

April 27, Sunday of St Thomas

Divine Liturgy, 10:00 am

Holy Week Schedule at Mater Ecclesiae in Berlin, New Jersey

Mater Ecclesiae Parish in Berlin, New Jersey, will have the following schedule for its Holy Week service. The church is located at 261 Cross Keys Road.

Palm Sunday Sunday, April 10

8:00 a.m. Low Mass

10:25 a.m. Asperges

10:30 a.m. The Blessing and Procession of Palms followed by High Mass

(No Benediction - Confessions 60 minutes before each Mass)

Monday, April 11

8:00 AM Mass

Tuesday, April 12

 8:00 AM Mass (Confessions 30 minutes before each Mass)

Spy Wednesday, April 13

7:30 PM Mass

(Confessions 6:30 PM – 7:25 PM)

Holy Thursday, April 14

No Morning Mass

6:30 PM to 7:25 PM – Confessions

7:30 PM - Mass of the Lord’s Supper and Procession to the Repository Adoration at the Repository until 11:00 PM

Good Friday, April 15

No Morning Mass

2:00 PM to 2:55 PM – Confessions

3:00 PM – Mass of the Pre-Sanctified

7:00 PM – Stations of the Cross and Blessing with the Relic of the True Cross

HOLY SATURDAY April 16

No 8:00 AM Mass

5:00 PM to 5:55 PM – Confessions

6:00 PM – The Easter Vigil

EASTER SUNDAY April 17

8:00 AM Low Mass

10:30 AM – High Mass & Benediction

(Confessions 60 minutes before Mass)

Holy Week Music at St Vincent Ferrer in New York City

The Schola Cantorum of St Vincent Ferrer in New York City, the professional choral ensemble of the parish, will sing an especially impressive repertoire of sacred music during the rites of the Sacred Triduum and Easter. (Please note that the Dominican Parish in New York City is at two different church, St Vincent Ferrer and St Catherine of Siena.)

April 18, Maundy Thursday: 6:30 pm, Solemn Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper Mass (at St Vincent)

• Messe Solennelle (Gloria) – Jean Langlais (1907-1991)
• Ubi caritas – Ola Gjeilo (b. 1978)
• Panis angelicus, Op. 80 – Pierre Villette (1926-1998)
• O salutaris hostias, Op. 21 – Pierre Villette
• Ave verum corpus – Flor Peeters (1903-1986)

April 19, Good Friday: 12:00pm, Seven Last Words of Christ from the Cross (at St Catherine)

• Salve salutaris victima – Peter Philips (c. 1560-1628)
• Da Jesus an dem Kreuze stund – Michael Praetorius (1571-1621)
• Surely he hath borne our griefs (from Handel’s Messiah)
• Have mercy upon me, O God – William Byrd (c. 1540-1623)

3:00 pm Solemn Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion (at St Vincent)

• Solemn Passion according to Saint John
• Adoramus te – Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
• Inspice vulnera – Haec quanta sint – Melchior Franck (1580-1639)

April 20, Holy Saturday: 9:00 pm, Great Vigil of Easter (at St Vincent)

• Messe Solennelle in C Sharp minor, Op. 16 – Louis Vierne (1870-1930)
• Sicut cervus desiderat – Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594)
• Laudate Dominum (No. 4 from Quatre Motets, Op. 9) – Marcel Dupré (1886-1971)
• Congratulamini mihi – Orlando di Lasso (1532-1594)

April 21, Easter Sunday: 12:00 pm Solemn Mass

• Mass in F – Charles Wood (1866-1926)
• Haec dies – Herbert Howells (1892-1983)
• Regina caeli , Op. 9, No. 3 – Herbert Howells (1892-1983)

3:30 pm Sung Paschal Vespers (at St Vincent)

The parish of St Vincent Ferrer and St Catherine of Siena in the Archdiocese of New York is served by the Dominican Friars of the Province of Saint Joseph. The church of Saint Vincent Ferrer was built in 1918 to the designs of renowned Gothic revival architect Bertram Goodhue, who considered this his finest building. Now recognized as a National Historic Landmark, it includes a complete set of Charles Connick stained glass windows, carvings by Lee Lawrie, and two instruments by the Schantz Organ Company. The church is located at 869 Lexington Avenue in Manhattan; the church of St Catherine of Siena is located at 411 East 68th St.

The Schola Cantorum of Saint Vincent Ferrer, the parish’s professional choral ensemble, sings the Sunday Solemn Mass at noon, (Ordinary Form), and for weekday feasts during its season, which runs from September through Corpus Christi; it is lead by Director of Music and Organist James D. Wetzel. For more information, including a music list of this year’s repertoire, visit www.svsc.info/music.

FSSP Philadelphia Holy Week Schedule

The church of St Mary in Conshohocken, Pennsylvnia, recently given to the Fraternity of St Peter by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, will keep the following schedule for the services of the Triduum and Easter Sunday. The church is located at the corner of the corner of West Elm and Oak Streets.

Palm Sunday: Low Mass at 8:30am; High Mass and Procession at 11am
Holy Monday-Wednesday: Low Mass at 7:15am
Holy Thursday: Mass at 7pm, followed by the procession, and adoration until midnight.
Good Friday: Solemn liturgy at 3pm
Holy Saturday: Blessing of Easter baskets at 10am; Easter vigil at 10pm
Easter Sunday: Low Mass at 9am, Solemn High Mass at 11am.

Holy Week and Easter with the St Ann Choir in Palo Alto, CA

The St Ann Choir invites everyone in the area of Palo Alto, California, to the sacred rites of Holy Week, sung in Gregorian chant and polyphonic music of the Renaissance. The principal services will be celebrated at the regular church, St Thomas Aquinas, located at 751 Waverley (at Homer); services of the Divine Office – the extraordinary service of Tenebrae of Holy Thursday on Wednesday evening, and Vespers on the Sundays at 6:15 p.m. – will continue at St Ann Chapel, 541 Melville (at Tasso). See the poster below for the schedule. The Mass continues in the new rite (ordinary form), mostly sung in Latin; the Mass of Easter Sunday will be celebrated with the choir’s most festive music. For more information, see the website  www.stannchoir.org or call 650-493-7933.

Holy Week at a New ICK Apostolate in Indiana

For the first time in over 50 years, the major Holy Week liturgies will be celebrated in the Diocese of Gary, Indiana, this year, thanks to a new apostolate of the Institute of Christ the King. The church of St Joseph, located at 5310 in Hammond, Indiana, will hold the ceremonies of Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, the Easter Vigil, and of course Easter Sunday. The following schedule has been announced on the church’s Facebook page; further information is available at the website of the Northwest Indiana Latin Mass Community.

April 14th, Palm Sunday: High Mass with Blessing of Palms and Procession, 11:00 a.m.
April 18th, Holy Thursday: High Mass at 7:00 p.m., with Adoration until Midnight.
April 19th, Good Friday: Stations of the Cross, 8:00 a.m.; Mass of the Pre-Sanctified, 6:00 p.m.
April 20th, Holy Saturday: Blessing of Easter baskets and food, 7:15 p.m.; Easter Vigil 9:00 p.m.
April 21st, Easter Sunday: High Mass, 11:00 a.m.

EF Holy Week at Birmingham Oratory

We are pleased to share with our readers the news that this year, the Birmingham Oratory will for the first time celebrate the whole of Holy Week, including the Triduum, in the Extraordinary Form. (English Masses will also be celebrated outside the days of the Triduum, on which only one Mass is permitted.) The schedule of services and music to be sung at them are listed on the two posters below; the Oratory is located at 141 Hagley Road. See their website and Facebook page for more information and regular updates.

Holy Week Schedule for the St Ann Choir in Palo Alto, California

Here is the Holy Week schedule for services in Palo Alto, California, which will be sung by the St Ann Choir, featuring the music Byrd, Tallis, Palestrina, Victoria, di Lasso and others, and Gregorian chant as well. Please note that the services are divided between two locations, St Thomas Aquinas Church at 751 Waverly, and the St Ann Chapel at 541 Melville.

Holy Week Schedule for Westminster Cathedral, 1939

I have seen this several times on social media, but somehow, we’ve never got around to sharing it here on NLM. His Eminence the Cardinal Archbishop (Arthur Hinsley) had a very busy week. Note that in addition to the singing of all four of the Passions, the Office is given a prominent place, with Compline in addition to Tenebrae, and Pontifical Matins and Lauds of Easter, anticipated to the evening of Holy Saturday, as was then the long-standing custom. This schedule comprises only the services which are in addition to or variations of the regular ones; at the time, the canons of Westminster Cathedral maintained a very full liturgical life. The other Hours of the Divine Office would also have been celebrated according to their normal schedule, as they were every day, with Vespers and Compline sung, the rest in recto tono. (If anyone has any further information, please comment.) Multa renascentur quae jam cecidere!

Triduum and Easter Schedule at St Agnes in St Paul, Minnesota

Here is the schedule of services for the Triduum and Easter Sunday at the church of St Agnes in St Paul, Minnesota, where the legacy of the great Mons Richard Schuler lives on.

Holy Week Schedule for St. Mary’s in Norwalk, Connecticut

St Mary’s Church in Norwalk, Connecticut, has scheduled its entire Holy Week Triduum in the Extraordinary Form for the sixth year in a row. The Rev. Richard Cipolla, pastor, is the celebrant of all the Masses and services.

Observance of the Triduum begins on Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. with the singing of Tenebrae. Matins and Lauds will be sung on Good Friday and Holy Saturday at 8 a.m as well. Maundy Thursday will have the Mass of the Lord’s Supper at 7, with procession to the Altar of Repose, followed by Vespers and stripping of the altars. An all-night vigil at the repository will continue through noon on Good Friday.

The procession with the Cristo Muerte in 2016, courtesy of Stuart Chessman.

The Liturgy of Good Friday takes place at 3 p.m. with Collects, Passion, Prayers for the Church, Unveiling of the Cross, Veneration, and Mass of the Pre-Sanctified. At 7pm, the traditional procession of the Cristo Muerte takes place, with Bishop Frank Caggiano presiding. The procession is followed by Compline, the washing and anointing of the statue and shrouding with the funeral pall. Another all-night vigil takes place at the tomb until noon on Saturday.

On Holy Saturday, the vigil begins at 7pm with the lighting of the New Fire, Exsultet, Prophecies, Blessing of New Water and First Mass of Easter. 

Easter Day, the regular schedule of Masses has English Masses at 8 and 11:30, Spanish at 1:15 and Extraordinary Form at 9:30.

Triduum Schedule for St Mary Moorfield, London

The Latin Mass Society will be celebrating Holy Week with a wealth of traditional liturgy and exquisite sacred music at St Mary Moorfields in the heart of the City of London. Beginning on Spy Wednesday with Tenebrae, one of the oldest offices in the Catholic Church, this year’s Triduum celebration will feature the rarely heard complete set of Responsories by Spanish Renaissance composer Carlo Gesualdo (1566 – 1613), directed by renowned professional musician and classical pianist, Matthew Schellhorn.

The Responsories were composed just two years before Gesualdo’s death in 1611. Written for six voices these extraordinary settings perfectly capture the intensity of the unfolding of the Holy Week narrative.

Other highlights performed by the professional group ‘Cantus Magnus’ include the Mass for Four Voices by Thomas Tallis on Maundy Thursday, Byrd’s Passio secundum Joannem on Good Friday and the Messe à deux voix égales on Holy Saturday. There is also an incredible array of religious music spanning hundreds of years including composers such as Garcia, Isaac, Byrd, Palestrina, Anerio and Gounod.

The Holy Week services commence with Tenebrae at 9 pm on Wednesday 12th April and continue until the great celebration of the Easter Vigil at 18:00 on Saturday 15th April. As well as the services at St Mary Moorfields, Traditional Triduum liturgies will be celebrated at churches throughout the country. Details of Holy Week Mass listings are: www.lms.org.uk/sacredtriduum

Tenebrae and Triduum Services at St Anthony of Padua in Jersey City, New Jersey

Here are the schedules for Tenebrae and the services of the Sacred Triduum in the Extraordinary Form, at the church of St Anthony of Padua, in Jersey City, New Jersey. The church is located at Monmouth St. between 6th and 7th.
- Wednesday, April 12, Tenebrae at 7 pm
- Thursday, April 13, Mass of the Lord's Supper at 5:30 pm

- Friday, April 14, Commemoration of the Lord's Passion at 5 pm

- Saturday, April 15, Easter Vigil at 10 pm
- Easter Sunday, Low Mass at 9 am

St Ann Choir Holy Week Schedule, Palo Alto, California

As always, the St Ann Choir will be singing Gregorian chant and the finest of Renaissance polyphony for the services of Holy Week and Easter Sunday, at the churches of St Thomas Aquinas and the chapel of St Ann in Palo Alto, California. The complete schedule is given in the poster below. (Click to enlarge.)

Holy Week Schedules : Hong Kong, Tampa, Grand Rapids MI, Chesapeake VA

My apologies for the lateness with which these are being posted, I have had a very busy week.

Hong Kong

Epiphany Catholic Church - Tampa, Florida

See the parish website for more information.

Sacred Heart - Grand Rapids, Michigan

St Benedict’s Chapel - Chesapeake, Virginia (FSSP)

See the website for more information

First Tenebrae Since Vatican II at St Anthony of Padua in Jersey City

The Office of Tenebrae of Holy Thursday will be anticipated on Wednesday, March 23 at 7:30PM as part of this year’s schedule of Holy Week services at the historic downtown church of St. Anthony of Padua in Jersey City, New Jersey, located at Monmouth St. between 6th and 7th.

The resident choir Cantantes in Cordibus will lead the Gregorian chant and other musical settings by Allegri. Its director, Maestro Simone Ferraresi, studied at the Conservatory of Music in Ferrara, Italy where he earned his degree with highest honors; at the Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna he studied with world renowned pianist and musicologist Paul Badura-Skoda. Maestro Ferraresi specialized in interpretation of classical composers; at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he was awarded the Diploma of the Royal Academy of Music – the highest examinable award given by the Royal Academy. He was also awarded three special prizes for best performance in the final recital. He is the founder and artistic director of the Ferrara International Piano Festival.

St. Anthony’s Church is listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Sites. The church built in the Victorian Gothic Style is a pristine example of a church untouched by modern elements and remains a true example of Roman Catholic aesthetic rarely seen today. The church parking lot is located on 6th St. between Coles and Monmouth Street and is easily accessible from the Grove Street PATH, the Newport PATH and Light Rail stop.

Through the generous support of Very Rev. Canon Joseph Urban, Pastor of St. Anthony’s, this is the first time Tenebrae will be available at St. Anthony’s. We invite everyone to attend this moving service during the most important and significant week of the Liturgical Year. Please visit the parish website at stanthonyjc.com for more information about the other traditional services during Holy Week.