Laetare Sunday Anointing of the Sick

Saturday, March 29, 2025

Following tradition, the Universal Catholic Church observes the Fourth Sunday of Lent as Laetare Sunday this weekend, March 29-30.

“Laetare” comes from the Latin phrase “Rejoice (Laetare) Jerusalem” cited in Isaiah 66:10 -- and signifies a short time of joyful anticipation of Christ’s Resurrection and a break from the penitential emphasis of Lent.

The custom of wearing rose vestments and placing flowers at the altar or in the sanctuary is believed to come from the tradition of the Golden Rose. Popes would send golden roses to Catholic heads of state in Europe on this Sunday.

At St. Joseph Cathedral, 401 Main Street in downtown Baton Rouge, Laetare Sunday Masses are at 4:00 pm Saturday, March 29, and 8:30 am and 10:30 am Sunday, March 30.

All are invited to join parishioners and friends at these Eucharistic celebrations.
The sacramental Anointing of the Sick occurs after the 10:30 liturgy, and is available to local Catholics who are ill, facing surgery, or feel a need for divine assistance.
The sacrament offers anointing with the sacred Oil of the Sick, which symbolizes the loving presence of God at a time of great physical and emotional need. The service also includes a blessing with the holy relics of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, a Redemptorist priest who ministered to the sick and dying during the Yellow Fever epidemic in 1860s New Orleans.

This sacramental rite is usually held after the 10:30 am Mass on the last Sunday of each month at the cathedral.