Litany of Saints at the Easter Vigil
  • argentarius
    Posts: 70
    We have no Baptisms or Confirmations at our Easter Vigil this year. We will bless Holy Water to sprinkle the people. Is the Litany of the Saints to be sung under these circumstances? The instruction seems ambiguous. Thanks!
  • trentonjconn
    Posts: 623
    The litany is NOT sung under these circumstances. The simple form of blessing of the water is used, and the sprinkling rite does occur, as you have indicated.
  • PaxTecum
    Posts: 314
    You can still use the more solemn blessing of the font if there are no baptisms, but there is still no litany.

    EDIT: apparently I'm wrong - see Salieri below - I didn't check rubrics before typing this. Oops.
  • Chris Garton-Zavesky
    Posts: 6,902
    This must be an OF thing? I don't think we have any baptisms, but we're singing the litany.
    Thanked by 1francis
  • MatthewRoth
    Posts: 2,311
    Correct. In the 1962 rite and in the traditional rite, the Litany is sung regardless of what happens at the font.
    Thanked by 2tomjaw PaxTecum
  • SalieriSalieri
    Posts: 3,177
    There is the possibility in the Novus Ordo of blessing the font even if no one is to be baptized, in which case the litany IS sung. Read numbers 40-43 in the Missal. There is also an alternate clause in the litany for "If there is no one to be baptized": "Make this font holy by your grace for the new birth of your children."

    If the font is blessed, the litany is sung.
    Thanked by 3Liam LauraKaz fcb
  • SponsaChristi
    Posts: 402
    This must be an OF thing? I don't think we have any baptisms, but we're singing the litany.


    It is. Even with no baptisms, the Litany of the Saints is still sung in the EF.
  • fcbfcb
    Posts: 338
    As usual, Paul Turner lays it all out clearly:
    Blessing the Font
    Thanked by 1trentonjconn
  • PaxTecum
    Posts: 314
    This raises more questions for me (probably off topic).

    It says "blessing of the font." I've only ever seen this done that the candle is lowered into the (moveable) holy water font which water is then used for the baptisms. In conversation a parish priest I was speaking with recently mentioned that the candle would be lowered into the baptismal font.. which doesn't sound right to me... ?
  • a_f_hawkins
    Posts: 3,467
    If the font can be seen by the congregation then the water is blessed in the font, otherwise a moveable vessel/font is used. So in the parish near us where the font is, after re-ordering, in a front corner of the sanctuary - yes the candle is lowered into the font. In our church the font is not in sight of anybody in the nave, so it plays no role in the Vigil.
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