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I remarked in the last chapter, that anciently mass was not said either on good-friday, or holy-saturday, and I quoted Pope Innocent I, who assigns as a reason the example of the Apostles, who spent those days in mourning for their Master. It was formerly customary to celebrate mass on the night of Easter-eve or holy Saturday.
The administration of the Sacrament of Baptism forms an important feature in the ceremonies of this day: indeed anciently it was customary to confer it only on holy-saturday, and the eve of Whit-sunday, except in case of necessity . On these two days those Catechumens who were sufficiently instructed, and also children, used to be baptised by the bishop, and by the bishop of Rome as well as others ; and after they had been baptised, they all received Confirmation and the holy Eucharist .
The ceremonies of holy-week are performed at S. John Lateran's by the chapter of that protobasilica, and resemble for the most part those which we have already described. On holy-saturday however, in addition to the rites before mentioned, the font of the baptistery is blessed by the Card.
The Cæremoniale Episcoporum prescribes that infants, except in danger of death, should not be baptised during the eight preceding days, that they may be reserved for holy-Saturday.
In the year 1833 he exposed, but not without great risk, the fraud of the "holy fire". On the holy-Saturday of the Greeks the officiating Bishop accompanied by an Armenian and a Coptic Bishop and their respective clergy had already walked thrice round the holy Sepulchre, when the missionary ignited a match with phosphorus, and holding it up exclaimed "Look, the heavenly fire has fallen into my hands": he then extinguished it and lighted it again several times to the great astonishment of the assembled multitude.
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