Great Saturday is the day after Good Friday. It is the day before Easter and the last day of Holy Week in which Christians prepare for Easter. It commemorates the day that Jesus’ body lay in the tomb and the Harrowing of Hell.

On Great Saturday the Church contemplates the mystery of the Lord’s descent into Hades, the place of the dead. Great Saturday is the day between Jesus’ death and His resurrection. It is the day of watchful expectation, in which mourning is transformed into joy. The day embodies in the fullest possible sense the meaning of joyful-sadness, which has dominated the celebrations of Great Week.