Exsultet

thumb|alt=A deacon singing the Exsultet.|The Exsultet in a Polish church. The Exsultet (spelled in pre-1920 editions of the Roman Missal as Exultet), also known as the Easter Proclamation (), is a lengthy sung proclamation delivered before the paschal candle, ideally by a deacon, during the Easter Vigil in the Roman Rite of Mass. In the absence of a deacon, it may be sung by a priest or by a cantor. It is sung after a procession with the paschal candle before the beginning of the Liturgy of the Word. It is also used in Anglican and various Lutheran churches, as well as other Western Christian denominations.

== History == Since the 1955 revision of the Holy Week rites, the Roman Missal explicitly gives the title Praeconium (proclamation or praise) to the Exsultet, as it already did implicitly in the formula it provided for blessing the deacon before the chant: ut digne et competenter annunties suum Paschale praeconium. Outside Rome, use of the paschal candle appears to have been a very ancient tradition in Italy, Gaul, Spain and perhaps, from the reference by Augustine of Hippo (De Civ. Dei, XV, xxii), in Africa. The Liber Pontificalis attributes to Pope Zosimus its introduction in the local church in Rome.