This Sunday is Pentecost: what is the origin of this celebration and what do we celebrate?

 

50 days after Easter, we celebrate Pentecost, a central festival in the Christian religion, which symbolizes the outpouring of the Holy Spirit among men 

After Easter and Ascension, Pentecost is celebrated as one of the main Christian holidays. In 2024, it falls on Sunday, May 19, marking the end of the Easter season, which lasts for seven weeks.

According to the Catholic Church of France, “the event of Pentecost can only be understood in connection with the previous Easter and the Ascension.” The church explains, “You will receive power, that of the Holy Spirit who will come upon you.”

In other words, Jesus was crucified and died on Good Friday. He rose again on the following Sunday, ascended to heaven 40 days later on Ascension Thursday, and finally, His Spirit was sent to Earth at Pentecost.

The Catholic Church summarizes this event: “On the 50th day after Easter, while a crowd gathered for Shavuot (a Jewish festival commemorating the giving of the Law to Moses), the apostles, Mary, and a few relatives heard a noise and saw a kind of fire.”

Thus, the promise made by Christ to the apostles at the time of his Ascension, around ten days earlier, is fulfilled: “You will receive strength, that of the Holy Spirit who will come upon you. Then you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

It was at this time that the apostles began to bear witness to the resurrection of Christ, to spread his teachings, and to baptize. Following this event, the first Christian communities were formed.

What about Pentecost Monday? Before the Revolution, the entire week following the feast of Pentecost was a public holiday. The Concordat of 1802 reduced the holiday to just Pentecost Monday. However, since a 2004 law instituted after the heatwave of 2003, and provisions taken in 2008, Pentecost Monday is now a public holiday that can be worked without pay.

Throughout this weekend, national and local pilgrimages, diocesan festivals, and large gatherings of young people take place in all the dioceses of France.

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