First, I think the OP needs to consult with the priest who will be offering the Easter Vigil. Whether or not Latin is used is HIS call.
aemcpa, the territorial authority (bishop and priests) determines what type of music will or will not be used in his Masses–that is the teaching of the Church. A cantor or music minister or any layman can’t take it upon themselves to “do” the music. This isn’t a concert.
From her posts, it appears that the OP has never experienced an Easter Vigil Mass (e.g., not being sure if the Gloria is used). Since the OP is asking about using Latin hymns, I’m assuming that Latin is something “different” in the Masses in her parish, which means that the parish is probably having OF Masses.
So it seems to me that the OP should sit down with the priest and carefully study the “Order” of the Easter Vigil in the OF. This is a three-hour event, not just another Mass. It needs to be well-planned by those involved.
The priest is the pastor of the parish, and he knows what is best for his “sheep.” He may love the idea of including a Latin hymn. OR…he may prefer not to use Latin.
The Easter Vigil is a Mass in which many non-Catholics are present (to see their loved ones baptized and confirmed into the Church)–the priest may wish to keep everything in the vernacular for the sake of clarity.
I am a convert to Catholicism, and my husband and I were received into the Church during the Easter Vigil in 2004. I’ll be blunt–I would have been upset if a lot of Latin had been used in the Easter Vigil. I needed very badly to understand everything that was happening that evening–Latin would have been strange and confusing to me, and I very possibly would have backed out of the Mass because it would have frightened me. Please do not underestimate the tremendous emotions, positive and negative, that happen when an Evangelical Protestant converts to Catholicism. I don’t know that a cradle Catholic can truly understand this. Thankfully, the Church seems to understand it, and thankfully, the Church does encourage the use of vernacular in the Mass in spoken word and hymns.
As an ex-Evangelical Protestant, I (and my husband) found everything about the Catholic Church strange and different than what we were used to. We were in RCIA in a very contemporary parish, and that felt somewhat "comfortable to us, but the liturgy was still completely foreign. (We were attending Mass for two years before we entered RCIA, BTW.)
We were not interested in the practices of “ancient Catholicism”. (We still aren’t.) I know that on CAF, we hear from a lot of ex-Evangelical Protestants who LOVE ancient Catholicism and Latin and Gregorian chant and all the rest. But I honestly don’t think that’s the norm–many converts are drawn to the Catholic Church by the “modern” hymns and use of the vernacular.
Yes, Latin is the Official Language of the Church. And yes, Vatican II made it clear that Latin can be used in the OF Mass. But each bishop is given the authority, by the CHURCH, to determine how much Latin will be used in the Masses in his diocese. If the bishop allows/encourages the use of the vernacular in the Masses, then a parish priest is not wrong to have vernacular Masses. That’s according to Church teaching.
So OP, like I said, you need to work with your PRIEST on this, and not run ahead of him and make plans and decisions about the Mass music. He may very well be on board with the use of a Latin hymn. Or he may not. At any rate, it’s HIS decision, not yours.
