What is the Triduum?

The word triduum is a Latin word meaning “three days”. In the early part of the 1900s most major feasts of the Church were preceded by three days of prayer and pious exercises in preparation for the feast at hand. Today we use the word to refer to the paschal Triduum. The three days of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday celebrate Christianity’s most sacred events – the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus.

The official beginning of the paschal Triduum takes place the evening of Holy Thursday, when we celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. This day is also referred to as Maundy Thursday, because Jesus gives a command (mandatum) to his followers to be an example of love and service to others. The Mass of the Lord’s Supper ends in somber stillness, as the tabernacle is emptied and the altar is stripped bare. The priests, ministers, and congregation then exit in silence. Good Friday is a day of somber quiet, as we relive the passion and death of Jesus. The service centers on the solemn veneration of the cross. Holy Saturday is characterized by the spirit of waiting and quiet anticipation, until the festive Easter Vigil, celebrated in the evening, when the Church comes alive with the new Light of Christ and catechumens are joyfully received into the Eucharistic community. These are the Christian high holy days.