Burial of the Alleluia

The Burial of the ‘Allelúia’ is a beautiful custom repeated each year at Chicago’s St. John Cantius Parish. On the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, we bid this sacred word a fond farewell for the duration of Lent. At the end of Mass, a placard with the ‘Allelúia’ in ornate gold letters is taken from the Sanctuary and processed to Mary’s Altar where it is “buried”—placed under the altar cloth. “Alleluia, song of gladness, voice of joy that cannot die; Alleluia is the anthem ever dear to choirs on high; In the house of God abiding thus they sing eternally.“