Solemnity of the Dedication of the Duomo

SATURDAY 17 OCTOBER
- 5.30pm Vigil mass

SUNDAY 18 OCTOBER
Eucharist mass 7am – 8am - 9.30am – 11am - 12.30pm - 5.30pm
- 10.25am Morning lauds
- 11am Pontifical mass conferred by His Excellency Monsignor Archbishop
- 4pm Vespers and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament

In the Ambrosian liturgy, the anniversary of the Dedication (consecration) of Duomo is celebrated on the third Sunday of October.
The third Sunday of October is the Sunday in which the history of the Duomo records some of its significant moments: the reconsecration in 453, by archbishop St Eusebius, of the ancient main church devastated by the Huns: the Dedication in 1577, at the hand of archbishop St Charles Borromeo, of the current Duomo; the Dedication in 1986, during the episcopate of archbishop Carlo Maria Martini, of the Duomo’s new altar, following work to adapt the presbytery according to the liturgical and pastoral guidelines set out in the Second Vatican Council.
The Duomo is the Mother Church of all Ambrosian worshippers, where the Bishop’s chair can be found, from which he presides over the liturgical services and where he exercises his ministry as both pastor and teacher. For each Ambrosian, the Duomo is not just one of the most representative images of the city of Milan, but an evident sign of unity in faith and one with its own peculiar liturgical tradition.

The Chapter of Canons is present in the Cathedral, to whom the care of the daily religious life of the Duomo is entrusted, ensuring prayer for the entire diocesan community.

This Solemnity also refers to the uninterrupted activity of the Veneranda Fabbrica which, from 16 October 1387 (the date in which its first Regulations were set down), first oversaw the Cathedral’s construction and then its conservation and enhancement.