What was Jesus doing on Holy Saturday?

Holy Saturday is a special day in the Church. It is the day between Good Friday, when Jesus died, and Easter, when he rose from the dead. It is an appropriate time to reflect on the meaning of what Catholics profess in the Apostles Creed, that after Christ’s death, “He descended into hell.”

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), the word “hell” (Sheol in Hebrew or Hades in Greek) is the name given in Scripture to the home of the dead who were deprived of the vision of God. It goes on to explain that the descent to the dead is “the last phase of Jesus’ messianic mission” (CCC 634). The Catechism states, “In his human soul united to his divine person, the dead Christ went down to the realm of the dead. He opened heaven’s gates for the just who had gone before him” (CCC 637). Jesus, the “Author of life.” By dying destroyed “him who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and delivered all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage”

(CCC 635).

Holy Saturday is a day when Catholics take time to quietly reflect on the time Jesus spent in the tomb. Mass is not celebrated during the day. Instead, the time is meant to be used to wait and pray ahead of Easter Vigil that takes place on this evening.