What are the rules regarding "Vigil " Sunday Mass on Saturday evening?

[jas84173]

How early can a Mass for the following Sunday or Holy Day of Obligation be said? And why do the majority have the mass at 4 or 5 p.m; yet on Easter Vigil it must be said following sunset I believe? I’m just curious as to Canon Law on this. Obviously I realize Easter is the most important celebration in Christianity, however does it officially have more merit than any other Sunday or Solemnity throughout the Liturgical year?

 

[porthos11]

The main difference is that an anticipated Sunday Mass for “normal” Sundays is to be celebrated in the evening, while the Easter Vigil is specifically indicated to be celebrated at night.

That may sound like hair-splitting in English but in church-ese, the two periods are notably different. “Evening” is defined as the end of the daytime hours, i.e. twilight. More specifically, “evening” for anticipated Mass times is whenever Vespers can be celebrated, which is “when the day is far spent and evening draws near.” This is not precisely indicated in terms of civil time, which the Church does not generally use, so most bishops have set this at 4 PM, according to whatever civil time is in use in the area.

The Easter Vigil, however is celebrated at night, which is distinct from evening and when Compline is typically celebrated. Compline is said before bedtime, when most reasonable people go to sleep. In church-ese, this means dark, or at the end of nautical twilight.

 

[Vico]

How early can a Mass for the following Sunday or Holy Day of Obligation be said? And why do the majority have the mass at 4 or 5 p.m; yet on Easter Vigil it must be said following sunset I believe? I’m just curious as to Canon Law on this. Obviously I realize Easter is the most important celebration in Christianity, however does it officially have more merit than any other Sunday or Solemnity throughout the Liturgical year?

For fulfillment of the Sunday or Holy Day of Obligation for the Latin Church may be fulfilled on the evening of the day before the solemnity. CIC
Can. 1248 §1. A person who assists at a Mass celebrated anywhere in a Catholic rite either on the feast day itself or in the evening of the preceding day satisfies the obligation of participating in the Mass.

Notably there are two parishes in the USA, that I know of, that have Saturday evening Mass at 2:30 PM that fulfills the Sunday obligation:

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
416 W. 12th Street
Kansas City, MO 64105

Guardian Angel Cathedral
302 Cathedral Way
Las Vegas, NV 89109

There are (since Missale Romanum 3rd edition) eight proper vigil Masses, and seven are optional. The optional vigil Mass is used on the evening of the day before the Solemnity, either before or after First Vespers (Evening Prayer I) of the Solemnity. Required is Easter Vigil but it may be only after nightfall.

Vigil Masses (Ordinary Form) in the Roman Calendar, on evening before the day given.

1. 
   *]Nativity of the Lord (December 25) *
   *]Epiphany **
   *]Easter (on Holy Saturday after nightfall)
   *]Ascension **
   *]Pentecost *
   *]Nativity of St. John the Baptist (June 24) *
   *]Saints Peter and Paul (June 29) *
   *]Assumption (August 15) *
   • Optional Vigil Mass, since 1969
     ** Optional Vigil Mass, since 2002 (Missale Romanum 3rd edition)

 

[Red_James]

Depending on where you live 4 and 5 p.m. can mean very different things. Our parish celebrates an evening 5 p.m. Vigil Mass every Saturday. In the winter, when the mass starts at 5 p.m. it is almost dark and already after twilight near the Winter Solstice. So in the months of December and January the 5 p.m. Mass is celebrated after sunset when it is already dark.
On the other hand when summer comes along 4 or 5 p.m. can be mid-afternoon where sunset doesn’t come until after 8 or 9 p.m. I can imagine it being pretty hectic for a parish constantly changing its evening Vigil Mass time throughout the year because of the changing lengths of day and events such as Daylight Savings Time. Thus sometimes in the summer months, a 4 p.m. Vigil Mass does not feel like a true Vigil Mass since there will still be plenty of hours left of sunlight after, but on the flip side, its fully dark in the late autumn and winter months. A 4 p.m. Vigil Mass makes sense in the winter, but for some in the summer a 9 p.m. Vigil is pretty late.

 

[Herculees]

Rules differ depending on Country, Diocese, and Rite.

I live in Massachusetts and the Latin Rite Catholics are NOT permitted to have the Easter Vigil Mass any earlier than 8 PM.

I worship in the Maronite Rite (Eastern Rite Catholic) and we have our Easter Vigil Mass at 5 PM (which is our normal Saturday Vigil Mass time). My church also celebrates a Midnight Mass and their regular Sunday Mass times.