Holy Week 2026: From darkness to light

By Catherine Sheehan

From Palm Sunday through to Easter Sunday Mass, the faithful gathered in churches around Tasmania to once again recall and celebrate the story of our salvation—the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Archbishop Tony Ireland presided over well-attended ceremonies throughout Holy Week at the mother church of the diocese, St Mary’s Cathedral in Hobart.

As the week began with Palm Sunday, recalling Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem, Archbishop Tony spoke of the movement of the crowd, from praising Jesus to rejecting him.

“That movement—from praise to rejection—is not only the story of those days in Jerusalem,” Archbishop Tony said. “It is also, if we are honest, the story of the human heart.

“And yet, the Gospel is not a story of accusation. It is a story of love that does not turn back.

“Jesus enters Jerusalem knowing what lies ahead.”

At the Chrism Mass on 31 March, all the priests of the diocese renewed their promises, and the Holy Oils (Oil of the Sick, Oil of the Catechumens, and the Sacred Chrism) were blessed and distributed.

“The Holy Oils will travel from the Cathedral to every corner of our island state,” Archbishop Tony said.

“They will be entrusted to missionary priests sent into a missionary Church to serve the missionary people of God.”

At the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, Archbishop Tony said the traditional ‘washing of the feet’ was not a symbol but rather, “the Gospel in action”.

“The Lord of heaven kneels. The Master becomes the servant. He takes the dust, the sweat, the road-worn feet of his disciples into his hands—and washes them.

“To receive the Body of Christ is to become the Body of Christ—broken for others, poured out for others, given in love.”

At 3pm on Good Friday the faithful gathered in silence and solemnity for the Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion, during which they venerated the Cross.

“On Calvary, ugliness and beauty meet,” Archbishop Tony said. “Violence and love collide. Sin and mercy converge. And what emerges is not despair—but redemption.

“This is the great reversal at the heart of Good Friday: that what looks like failure becomes victory, what appears to be weakness becomes strength, and death becomes life.”

The Easter Vigil Mass began in darkness and was slowly illuminated by flickering candlelight as the story of creation was read from the Book of Genesis, followed by the flight of the Israelites from Egypt in the Book of Exodus.

Three Catechumens were baptised during the Mass and received the sacraments of First Holy Communion and Confirmation.

“The Easter Vigil is unlike any other night of the year,” Archbishop Tony said, adding that it was, “The night when darkness gives way to light, and death yields to life.”

“Through this rich tapestry of readings, the Church leads us step by step through the story of God’s love—a love that has never wavered, never withdrawn, never abandoned his people.

“In Baptism, we pass through the waters—not of the Red Sea, but into the very death and resurrection of Christ.

“Tonight, throughout the whole Church, and here among us, men and women are baptised. Together with all of us, they will make their baptismal promises—renouncing darkness, professing faith, choosing life.

“This is who we are. We are not people of the tomb.

“We are not people of darkness. We are an Easter people.”