Gathered in Hope: Lessons and Carols at St. Peter Cathedral
By Allison Mosier12/22/2025
As the Diocese of Erie entered the final days of Advent and the Fourth Week of the Jubilee Year of Hope, the faithful gathered on Sunday, December 21, at St. Peter Cathedral for a luminous celebration of Lessons and Carols, an evening shaped by Scripture, sacred music and the quiet anticipation of Christ’s coming.
Presided over by Bishop Lawrence T. Persico, the service unfolded on the radiant O Antiphon, O Radiant Dawn, when the church gives voice to its longing for the Light who dispels darkness. For many who attended, the evening also marked a meaningful pilgrimage—a journey to the Cathedral during the Jubilee Year, undertaken in prayer, hope and gratitude.
Families, parishioners and visitors arrived from across the region, filling the Cathedral with voices and presence. Parents, children and grandparents gathered together, stepping away from the busyness of the season to listen as the story of salvation was proclaimed once more—from the first promise in Genesis, through the prophets, to the joyful expectation of Emmanuel, God with us.
The structure of Lessons and Carols traces its roots to King’s College, Cambridge, where the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols was first celebrated in 1918. Over the past century, the service has spread throughout the world. At St. Peter Cathedral, this tradition has become a treasured local offering—one that unites the universal church’s prayer with the lived faith of the Diocese of Erie.
Throughout the evening, Scripture readings were interwoven with carols and choral anthems led by the Cathedral choir, cantors and organ. Hymns such as Once in Royal David’s City, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel and Hark! The Herald Angels Sing invited full participation, while moments of choral reflection allowed the Word to settle deeply in the hearts of those present. Together, lesson by lesson and song by song, the faithful were led toward the promise of Christ’s birth.
Within the context of the Jubilee Year of Hope, the service offered more than beauty—it offered renewal. As pilgrims to the Cathedral, those gathered were reminded that hope is not abstract, but encountered in prayer, community and the living Word of God.
As the final blessing was given and the last notes faded beneath the Cathedral’s vaulted ceiling, the faithful departed with hearts lifted and spirits renewed. Lessons and Carols once again served as a sacred pause in the Advent journey—where tradition, pilgrimage and hope converged, preparing the church in Northwestern Pennsylvania to welcome the Radiant Dawn.
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