Ascension of the Lord
Eucharistic celebrations at 7 a.m., 8 a.m., 11 a.m., 1.15 p.m. and 5.30 p.m.
7 a.m. – 7 p.m.
The 8.30 am service in the Crypt is suspended
– 5.30 p.m. Chapter Eucharist
You can follow the 8.00 am and 5.30 p.m. services via streaming on this website (www.duomomilano.it) via the Duomo Milano TV YouTube channel
On the Solemnity of the Ascension (which falls on the fortieth day after Easter), during the chapter celebration, the rite of the ‘ascension’ of the Paschal Candle is performed.
Whilst the Gospel is being proclaimed (Luke 24:36b–53), the great Paschal Candle is slowly raised – as if to make visible the Mystery of the Lord’s Ascension – up to the height of the vaults, where it remains until the Solemnity of Pentecost.
Documented as early as the 15th century, the period to which the artistic suspended candelabrum dates, this evocative rite originates both from a didactic and formative intention towards the faithful and from an allegorical interpretation of the liturgy. On the one hand, the aim is to accompany the listening to the Word with the visual, fostering a participation that is a sharing in the Mystery. On the other hand, the origin of the rite harks back to a time when the allegorical interpretation of the liturgical action was considered one of the main pathways to the Mystery being celebrated.