Beginning with the First Sunday of Lent, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception will resume its Sunday Vigil Mass on Saturdays at 4:30 pm. The Basilica has not had a Sunday Vigil Mass since March 15, 2020, due to its unprecedented closure and subsequent adjusted operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The first Vigil Mass for the First Sunday of Lent will be celebrated this Saturday, February 20, at 4:30 pm. As with all Sunday Masses, advance registration is required due to the in-person limit of 250 people, per the directives of the Office of the Mayor and Health Department of the District of Columbia.
To register for Sunday Masses—the 4:30 pm Vigil (Saturday), the 9 am, 12 noon (Solemn with Choir), 2:30 pm (Spanish), or the 4:30 pm on Sunday, please visit www.nationalshrine.org/mass-registration.
Monsignor Walter Rossi, Rector of the Basilica, states, “As we approach the one-year anniversary of the coronavirus shut down and now begin to slowly emerge from the restrictions, the staff of the National Shrine felt that the Season of Lent would be the appropriate time to resume the Sunday Vigil Mass. We hope that the addition of this Mass will provide the faithful of the Washington Metropolitan Area yet another opportunity to participate at Mass in person.”
For those still unable to attend Mass in person, the Basilica will continue to livestream its 12 noon Mass on Sundays at www.nationalshrine.org/Mass.
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