The Solemnity of Pentecost Sunday

Pentecost Sunday

The Coming of the Holy Spirit

 

A stained-glass window of the Holy Spirit overlooking the high altar of Saint Peter's Basilica.  Franco Origlia/Getty Images News/Getty Images

Scott P. Richert

Catholicism Expert

By Scott P. Richert

Pentecost Sunday is one of the most ancient feasts of the Church, celebrated early enough to be mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles (20:16) and St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians (16:8). It is the 50th day after Easter (if we count both Easter and Pentecost), and it supplants the Jewish feast of Pentecost, which took place 50 days after the Passover and celebrated the sealing of the Old Covenant on Mt. Sinai.

 

Quick Facts

• Date: Fifty days after Easter Sunday; see When Is Pentecost Sunday? for the date in this and future years.
• Type of Feast: Solemnity.
• Readings: Acts 2:1-11; Psalm 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13, or Galatians 5:16-25; John 20:19-23 or John 15:26-27; 16:12-15 (full text here)
• Prayers: Novena to the Holy Ghost; Prayer for the Gifts of the Holy Spirit; Act of Consecration to the Holy Spirit; Come Holy Spirit; Litany of the Holy Spirit
• Other Names for the Feast: Whit Sunday, Whitsun, Whit

History

The Acts of the Apostles recounts the story of the original Pentecost (Acts 2). Jews from all over were gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the Jewish feast. On that Sunday, ten days after the Ascension of Our Lord, the Apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary were gathered in the Upper Room, where they had seen Christ after His Resurrection:

And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a mighty wind coming, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them parted tongues as it were of fire, and it sat upon every one of them: And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they began to speak with divers tongues, according as the Holy Ghost gave them to speak. [Acts 2:2-4]

 

Christ had promised His Apostles that He would sent His Holy Spirit, and, on Pentecost, they were granted the gifts of the Spirit. The Apostles began to preach the Gospel in all of the languages that the Jews who were gathered there spoke, and about 3,000 people were converted and baptized that day.

The Birthday of the Church

That is why Pentecost is often called "the birthday of the Church." On this day, with the descent of the Holy Spirit, Christ's mission is completed, and the New Covenant is inaugurated. It's interesting to note that St. Peter, the first pope, was already the leader and spokesman for the Apostles on Pentecost Sunday (see Acts 2:14ff).
In years past, Pentecost was celebrated with greater solemnity than it is today. In fact, the entire period between Easter and Pentecost Sunday was known as Pentecost (and it still is called Pentecost in the Eastern churches, both Catholic and Orthodox). During those 50 days, both fasting and kneeling were strictly forbidden, because this period was supposed to give us a foretaste of the life of Heaven. In more recent times, parishes celebrated the approach of Pentecost with the public recitation of the Novena to the Holy Ghost.
While most parishes no longer publicly recite this novena, many individual Catholics do. You can take part in the novena by signing up for a free e-mail reminder for the Novena to the Holy Ghost.
For more information on Pentecost, associated holy days, and the Holy Spirit, see Pentecost 101: Everything You Need To Know About Pentecost in the Catholic Church.