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How early can the Vigil Mass be? - Fides et Ratio

The Code of Canon Law (can. 1248) permits Catholics to fulfill their Mass obligation by attending Mass “in the evening of the preceding day.” Pope Pius …
Fides Et Ratio
Rule VI. If the circumstance calls for it as necessary, We grant to the local Ordinaries the right to permit the celebration of Mass in the evening, as we said, but in such wise that the Mass shall not begin before four o'clock in the afternoon, on holy days of obligation still observed, on those which formerly were observed, on the first Friday of every month, and also on those days on which solemn …More
Rule VI. If the circumstance calls for it as necessary, We grant to the local Ordinaries the right to permit the celebration of Mass in the evening, as we said, but in such wise that the Mass shall not begin before four o'clock in the afternoon, on holy days of obligation still observed, on those which formerly were observed, on the first Friday of every month, and also on those days on which solemn celebrations are held with a large attendance,
Father Karl A Claver
It was Paul VI who issued this document, not Pius XII. This foolish rule basically destroyed Sunday as being the day to glorify God and to rest.