Midnight mass christmas eve

The practice of celebrating Mass at midnight on Christmas Eve can be traced back nearly 1,600 years and is one of the Catholic Church’s oldest traditions.

But in the past 50 years, because of changes both in Church law and in society, it’s become common in the Diocese of Columbus and elsewhere to celebrate the “midnight” Mass at an earlier time on Christmas Eve, with vigil Masses in the late afternoon and early evening of Dec.

24 drawing the largest attendance among Christmas Masses.

Priests can celebrate as many as four Christmas Masses – the Vigil Mass, between 4 and 9 p.m. Dec. 24; Mass at Night, between 9 p.m. Dec. 24 and 4 a.m. Dec. 25; Mass at Dawn, between 4 and 10 a.m.

Dec. 25; and Mass During the Day, after 10 a.m.

What is midnight mass catholic

Dec. 25.

This year, among the 106 parishes in the Diocese of Columbus, 29 are celebrating the Night Mass at midnight, with three others at 11:30 p.m. Ten of the larger parishes are celebrating simultaneous Vigil Masses in separate locations because of the size of the crowds who come to those Masses each ye

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