The Exultet (also known as the Exsultet or sometimes the Easter Proclamationhttp://www.catholicculture.org/lit/prayers/view.cfm?id=1227) is the traditional Latin rite Catholic hymn of praise intoned by the deacon during the Easter Vigil. In the absence of a deacon, it may be intoned by the priest, or by the cantor. It is intoned after the procession with the Paschal Candle before the beginning of the Liturgy of the Word. It is used in the Latin rite of the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Churches, and the Nordic and Baltic Lutheran Churches, as well as other Western Christian denominations. History In the missal the title of the hymn is "Praeconium", as appears from the formula used at the blessing of the deacon: "ut digne et competenter annunties suum Paschale praeconium". Outside Rome, the use of the paschal candle appears to have been a very ancient tradition in Italy, Gaul, Spain, and perhap