The Easter Vigil celebrated on Saturday night in the Matriz parish of San Ginés Obispo in Arrecife is considered the most important celebration of the Christian liturgical year. It commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the passage from death to life. It is a night of joy and hope in which the victory of Christ over death and the triumph of light over darkness are celebrated.
Juan Carlos Medina, the titular parish priest, had the honor of presiding over it, surrounded by the parishioners who filled the three naves of the temple. On such a special night, the songs were enlivened by the Parish Choir, to which the parishioners also joined their voices.
The Easter Vigil is a very special ceremony full of symbolism and traditions, the first of them, the blessing of the fire from which the Easter Candle is lit, and which represents the light of the resurrected Christ, continuing with the Liturgy of the Word, reviewing several biblical passages collected in the Old and New Testaments, to these readings are added the corresponding psalms, ending with the proclamation of the Holy Gospel to continue with the Baptismal Liturgy, a very special rite tonight because the Litany of the Saints are sung.
On the night of the Easter Vigil, baptism is renewed with the sprinkling of holy water on the entire assembly, thus renewing their baptismal promises, taking the light of the Easter Candle again, remembering how their godparents did it on their baptism day.
The central part of the Easter Vigil is in the Eucharistic Liturgy, a solemn moment where the celebrating priest, Juan Carlos Medina, consecrates the species of bread and wine for their subsequent distribution.
On such a significant night for Catholics, the Easter Vigil ends with the Solemn Blessing, thus concluding the Holy Easter Triduum, corresponding to this Holy Week 2025.
