Passiontide
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Passiontide (in the Christian liturgical year) is a name for the last two weeks of Lent, beginning on Passion Sunday (the beginning of Forty Hours' Devotion) and ending on Holy Saturday.
In the pre-Vatican II rite in the Roman Catholic Church, all statues depicting religious figures and crucifixes are covered in purple veils starting on Passion Sunday. During the Good Friday liturgy a crucifix is unveiled for veneration. Other statues remain veiled until during the Gloria at the Easter Vigil Mass. In addition, Psalm 42 is omitted at Mass, as it is during a Requiem Mass, and the Gloria Patri is suppressed in all places except after the psalms and canticles of the Divine Office.
In the calendar reforms of the Second Vatican Council, Passiontide was universally suppressed. The veiling of statues was also suppressed unless the national council of bishops chose to continue the practice. In the United States, the national bishops' conference has permitted the practice, but most parishes do not observe it. Traditional Catholics still observe Passiontide as well as all of the rites and ceremonies that accompany it.
