Italians call it “Monday of the Angel:” the Monday following Easter,
also commonly referred to as “Easter Monday.” In Rome, Pope Francis will pray the Regina Coeli at twelve noon with pilgrims who are already filling St. Peter’s square to recite the traditional Marian prayer.
The Regina Coeli is sung or recited in place of the Angelus during the Easter season, from Holy Saturday through Pentecost Sunday.
To quote Pope John Paul II’s words on this feast day in 2003, “Easter Monday is called "Monday of the Angel" in memory of what happened at dawn on that first day after Saturday.
In fact, it was an Angel that comforted the women who, having hurried to the tomb and found it empty, were bewildered and upset…Indeed, if Christ is risen, everything changes and life and history acquire new meaning.”
In today’s liturgy, the Church remembers the Apostle Peter’s preaching to the crowds in Jerusalem, and his announcement that Jesus has been raised up “and of that we all are witnesses” (Acts 2:32).