In the Roman Catholic Church the most characteristic ritual feature of the festival is now the solemn extinction of the paschal candle after the Gospel at high mass.
One of the most notable of these was the use of the paschal candle.
The burning of the paschal candle still forms part of the Easter ceremonial of the Roman Catholic Church.
The power to bless in this ecclesiastical sense is reserved to priests alone; the blessing of the paschal candle on Holy Saturday by the deacon being the one exception that proves the rule, for he uses for the purpose grains of incense previously blessed by the priest at the altar.
This may be the paschal candle only.
