Tenebrae Services

Tenebrae is a prayer service, traditionally held during Holy Week, that includes a series of Scripture readings and hymns commemorating the events of Jesus's Passion and death. The word "Tenebrae" is Latin for "shadows" or "darkness," and one of the distinguishing features of a Tenebrae service is the extinguishing of a candle after each passage is read, until only a single candle remains, the Paschal candle, symbolizing the light of Christ. In some services, that candle is then carried out or hidden, leaving the church in darkness, and a loud noise is heard, such as the dramatic closing of a book. The noise is both an indication that the service is over and recalls the earthquake that took place upon Christ's death.

Tenebrae services date to the early Middle Ages, as far back as at least the ninth century. In the Catholic Church, these services were an optional form of liturgical prayer, commonly observed in religious communities during Holy Week. Prayed at night, they combined matins (historically prayed after midnight) and lauds (morning prayer from the next day). At that time, liturgies of the Holy Triduum were held in the morning, so they didn't conflict.

Following Vatican II, the option of reciting morning prayer the evening before was ended, and such services are now strictly devotional, not liturgical. They remain, however, a deeply moving Holy Week experience. In the Diocese of Portland, they are most often held on the days leading up to the Easter Triduum.

Tenebrae Services in the Diocese of Portland

Basilica of Ss. Peter & Paul, 122 Ash Street in Lewiston - Monday, March 30, at 7 p.m.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, 919 Roosevelt Trail in Windham - Monday, March 30, at 7:30 p.m.

Sacred Heart Church, 326 Main Street in Yarmouth - Wednesday, April 1, at 7 p.m.

St. Maximilian Kolbe Church, 150 Black Point Road in Scarborough - Palm Sunday, March 29, at 7 p.m.

St. Catherine of Sienna Church, 32 Paris Street in Norway - Monday, March 30, at 7:30 p.m.