A triple candlestick was prescribed until 1955 in the Roman Rite

Easter Vigil Easter Vigil, also called the Paschal Vigil or the Great Vigil of Easter, is a liturgy held in traditional Christian churches as the first official celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus. Historically, it is during this liturgy that people are ...

service, held on

Holy Saturday Holy Saturday ( la, Sabbatum Sanctum), also known as Great and Holy Saturday (also Holy and Great Saturday), the Great Sabbath, Hallelujah Saturday (in Portugal and Brazil), Saturday of the Glory, Sabado de Gloria, and Black Saturday or Easter ...

morning. In the associated ceremony, the

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

lights each of its three

candles A candle is an ignitable wick embedded in wax, or another flammable solid substance such as tallow, that provides light, and in some cases, a fragrance. A candle can also provide heat or a method of keeping time. A person who makes candles ...

in succession, chanting each time in ascending tones, "

Lumen Christi ''Lumen Christi'' (Latin: ''Light of Christ'') is a Versicle sung in Catholic, Lutheran and some Anglican churches as part of the Easter Vigil. In Lutheran and Anglican services, it is sung in the local language. It is chanted by the deacon on Ho ...

" (The light of Christ), to which the choir answers "

Deo gratias ' (Latin for "thanks eto God") is a response in the Latin Mass, derived from the Vulgate text of 1 Corinthians 15:57 and 2 Corinthians 2:14. Description It occurs in the Mass *as an answer of the server to the Epistle or Prophecies; in ...

" (Thanks be to God). From one of the candles on the triple

candlestick A candlestick is a device used to hold a candle in place. Candlesticks have a cup or a spike ("pricket") or both to keep the candle in place. Candlesticks are less frequently called "candleholders". Before the proliferation of electricity, candl ...

, the Paschal candle is afterwards lit during the chanting of the ''

Exsultet The ''Exsultet'' (spelled in pre-1920 editions of the Roman Missal as ''Exultet''), also known as the Easter Proclamation (), is a lengthy sung proclamation delivered before the paschal candle, ideally by a deacon, during the Easter Vigil in the ...

''.''Missale Romanum'' (Marietti, 1921), pp. 177–183 In 1955 the triple candlestick was abolished in the

liturgical reforms of Pope Pius XII The liturgical reforms of Pope Pius XII took place mostly between 1947 and 1958. Groundwork On 20 November 1947, Pius XII issued the encyclical ''Mediator Dei''. It included the statement: "the use of the mother tongue in connection with several ...

. Since then, even with the promulgation of new editions of the

Roman Missal The Roman Missal ( la, Missale Romanum) is the title of several missals used in the celebration of the Roman Rite. Along with other liturgical books of the Roman Rite, the Roman Missal contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of th ...

from 1962 onward, the Paschal candle is lit directly from the Paschal fire at the beginning of the Easter Vigil mass.

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Further reading