Friday in Holy Week, anniversary of the death of Christ, on which the Passion and Crucifixion of Christ are commemorated; a day of fasting and penance from the earliest ages of the Church. Black vestments are worn by the priest, and until the Mass the altar is covered July by a single linen cloth and there are no lights. The morning services are in three parts: a Prophecy; Lesson from the Scriptures, the reading of the Passion and prayers for all mankind, the unveiling and adoration of the Cross, accompanied by the chanting of the Improperia; and the Mass of the Presanctified, before which the Host, already consecrated on Holy Thursday, is taken in solemn procession from the Altar of Repose to the main altar. It is not a Mass properly speaking, as there is no consecration, but the Host is incensed, elevated before the people, and consumed by the priest. Holy Communion is given to the faithful only in case of sickness. It is customary to have services from twelve noon until three in commemoration of the Three Hours Agony of Christ, and the office of Tenebrae is sung in the evening.