Most Catholics are familiar with the celebrations of Lent, Holy Week, and Easter, but fewer are familiar with the solemn and beautiful office of Tenebræ. Tenebræ means “darkness” in Latin and is quite hard to explain outside of a highly technical context.
To simplify, each day the Church prays a cycle of the Psalms which is called the Liturgy of the Hours (also known as the Divine Office or the Breviary). Each day begins with the hours of Matins and Lauds (which are now more often known as the Office of Readings and Morning Prayer respectively).
As the new name would suggest, Matins is a series of readings from Sacred Scripture as well as many homilies of the Church Fathers as well as Psalms for each day. Lauds is the morning office in which we give our first moments of the day to praise God (‘Lauds’ coming from the Latin Laudo, Laudare; ‘to praise’).
On the three days of the Holy Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday), these two hours, which are usually recited in the early morning, are anticipated to the prior evening. Because of this, they will take place on the evenings of Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday in Holy Week respectively. These offices are beautifully filled with the Psalms and readings from the Book of Lamentations which is fitting as we enter the suffering and death of Christ.
This office is one of the most popular among the laity during Holy Week. Up there with the Stations of the Cross and the Seven Last Words sermon, Tenebræ holds a special place for lay people as a way to enter prayerfully into the holiest days of the year. While technically being sung on all three days mentioned previously, most churches (especially diocesan churches) will usually only hold the elaborate service on Wednesday night due to the other lengthy and complicated services on the following days.
The service, as the name implies, consists of the ever-growing darkness of the church and the day turning into night. A large fifteen candle display known as a candelabra is set up at the front of the church and during the service candles are slowly extinguished during the reading of the psalms.
Finally, as one candle is left it is taken and brought outside of the sanctuary outside of view. This last light fading away represents the death of Christ and his placement in the tomb. The service ends in silence but not after a surprise that I will not mention here to encourage you, dear reader, to experience it yourself.
As mentioned, the service of Tenebræ is dearly beloved by the faithful and so over the course of many centuries, sacred music composers have made beautiful pieces of music specifically suited for Tenebræ. The most famous example is Gregorio Allegri, ‘Miserere’ which is Psalm 50 set to a beautiful polyphonic score. My advice is to make a resolution this year to attend this service that the church offers. Many parishes will have it but if yours doesn’t look on the website of a basilica nearby, or even your diocesan Cathedral which is far more likely to have this service. It is truly a beautiful thing to experience and sets up perfectly for the Triduum and helps to set our minds on Our Lord’s suffering for us.
Born and Raised to Jewish parents in New York City, Kai Breskin is a recent convert to the Catholic Faith. A member of the Boston College class of 2026, he is studying Political Science, Philosophy, and History. His intellectual passions include Christian theology, history, and liturgical study. His hobbies include sailing, playing the piano, and singing, with a specific focus in Gregorian Chant.
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