Candlelight procession
A light procession is an evening or nighttime religious procession in which the participants carry burning lights.
Light procession as part of the liturgy
- Roman Catholic Church
A candlelight procession is part of the liturgy at two festivals in the church year of the Roman Catholic Church :
- On the feast of the Presentation of the Lord (Candlemas, February 2nd) the liturgy begins with a candlestick consecration outside the church, if possible, followed by a procession with burning candles into the church, where Holy Mass is celebrated.
- The celebration of the Easter Vigil begins in front of the church with the blessing of the Easter fire , the preparation and lighting of the Easter candle . Then everyone with the burning Easter candle pulls into the dark church with the three shouts of “Lumen Christi” or “Christ, the light”; After the second or third "Lumen Christi" one passes the light of the Easter candle on to the candles that are all carried in their hands. The introductory light celebration ends with the solemn chant of the Exsultet .
- Orthodox liturgy
In the Orthodox liturgy, a procession of lights is part of the consecration of water on the feast of the Epiphany (January 6th).
Popular piety
On the eve of a church consecration , light processions took place with the relics that were walled into the altar during the consecration on the following day . This custom is still practiced in some places today.
Light processions are common at numerous places of pilgrimage , such as Fátima , Kevelaer and Lourdes , where since 1872, when the weather is good, a one-hour light procession with rosary prayers often has several thousand participants every day at 9 p.m. Furthermore, they take place on the occasion of a festival week (octave) for saints and patronage festivals, often for the feast of St. Anne .
literature
- Theodor Maas-Ewerd : Light procession . In: Walter Kasper (Ed.): Lexicon for Theology and Church . 3. Edition. tape 6 . Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1997, Sp. 905 .