Hundreds attend Easter vigil service at St. Mary's

Just as the sun was setting over Southeast Missouri on Saturday, worshippers at St. Mary's Cathedral were lighting candles and holding vigil for their savior.

The traditional Easter vigil service celebrated by Catholics and other denominations all over the world is the first official celebration of the resurrection of Jesus during the Easter season. The service at St. Mary's on William Street in Cape Gir?ardeau began at 7:30 p.m. and stretched late into the evening.

The service began with the lighting of a five-foot colored Paschal candle from a flaming cauldron at the back of the church. Worshippers were given a small candle upon entering, and the light from the Paschal candle was passed by the priest from person to person in a rite called the Lucernarium.

Soon the cathedral was filled with the light of the candles symbolizing Christ's resurrection. About 400 people filled the pews at St. Mary's on Saturday.

For the next seven weeks leading up to the feast of the Pentecost, the Paschal candle will sit beside the pulpit and provide light for those reading scripture during services.

Saturday's service was presided over by Bishop John J. Leibrecht of the Springfield-Cape Girardeau Diocese.

Leibrecht said the vigil is a joyous occasion, calling it a "celebration of life."

"As we look to the future, we know the Lord is risen and will be with us now to help us make life on this earth better for people," he said before the service.

This type of rebirth, believes Leibrecht, is important in a world beset by conflict.

"When we think about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and Darfur, the continuing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, it's sometimes tempting to look for hope in the next life only. And yet Easter says God can make new life come about now, not just in the future, but life can be made better now, here on earth."

The Easter vigil is also a time when Catholics welcome new adult members to the religion. At the Mass at St. Mary's, eight people were baptized, 11 made professions of faith and six were confirmed.

One of those being confirmed was Denise Wright, 22, of Cape Girardeau. Raised in the Church of Christ, Wright has been attending classes at St. Mary's since October in anticipation of converting to Catholicism. She decided to become Catholic so she could share the faith of her fiance, Travis McClain.

"We've been dating for years, and I've been going to his church. I really enjoyed the religion and wanted to get a grasp on it," she said.

And though she had been looking forward to the vigil service, she has also been anxious about standing in front of the congregation.

"I am very nervous, but I'm very excited," she said. The newly confirmed stood in a semicircle and were each blessed. Later they took the bread and wine of Holy Communion for the first time as Catholics.

In 2006, 150,000 people in the United States joined the Catholic Church during the Easter vigil services, according to Leibrecht. Slightly more than 600 joined in the Springfield-Cape Girardeau Diocese.

tgreaney@semissourian.com

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