When the faithful arrive for the celebration of the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday night, the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist will be dark, but beautiful.
On Holy Thursday, after the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, the sanctuary was stripped of candles, the altar cloth and other adornments in preparation for Good Friday. After celebrating the liturgy of the Lord’s Passion, cathedral staff and volunteers sprang into action to prepare the mother church of the Diocese of Cleveland for the Easter season.
Monica Saccany, cathedral business manager, said about 200 white lilies and pink and white azaleas were ordered from a greenhouse. Augmented by silk flowers, candles, and draped white cloth, the cathedral church took on a joyful look in preparation for the celebration of Easter.
About a dozen people, including Father Sean Ralph, cathedral rector, brought the fresh flowers from their storage sites in the cathedral, placed them in decorative foil sleeves, added a plastic tray to collect water and then carefully placed them by size, type and color on the floor or on plant stands on both sides of the altar, next to the baptismal font and in other strategic areas.
Volunteers went into the cathedral basement and carried up several large wooden pieces that were assembled adjacent to the ambo to form a structure for other plants and to reach the paschal candle.
Large, silk arrangements were placed in the reredos and a ring of flowers was arranged in the gold candelabrum that holds the paschal candle, which will be lit during the Easter
Vigil.
The finishing touches were wreaths of spring flowers that were were hung on the candleholders lining the cathedral walls and on the church doors.
The decorations will remain in place throughout the Easter season.