Devotion of the 40 Hours
On Quinquagesima Sunday and the two following days, a solemn exposition of the Blessed Sacrament is held in most churches. This devotion originated from the 40 hours Jesus passed in the tomb: in some countries, the Blessed Sacrament is still “buried” in a kind of sepulchre on Good Friday and solemnly taken out of it on Easter Sunday in the very early morning. This devotion was later transferred to the three days before Ash Wednesday to atone for the excesses of “Carnival”; in this new form of devotion is attributed to either St. Anthony-Maria Zaccaria or to the Capuchin Father Joseph a Ferno.It was regulated by the “Clementine Bull” of Clement XI and enriched with indulgences by Clement XIII. In some dioceses, this devotion is kept in various churches at different times in the year, so as to form a chain of “Perpetual Adoration.”
- St. Andrew Daily Missal
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