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The General Roman Calendar indicates the days of the year to which are assigned the liturgical celebrations of saints that are to be observed wherever the Roman Rite is used. National and diocesan liturgical calendars, as well as those of religious orders and even of continents, add other saints or transfer the celebration of a particular saint from the date assigned in the General Calendar to another date.

These liturgical calendars also indicate the degree or rank of each celebration: Optional Memorial, Obligatory Memorial, Feast or Solemnity. Among other differences, the Gloria is said or sung at the mass of a Feast, but not at that of a Memorial, and the Creed is added on Solemnities.

The General Calendar assigns celebrations of saints to only about half the days of the year, and contains relatively very few of the saints recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, whose official list of saints is the 776-page volume Roman Martyrology (which does not claim to contain the names of all the saints legitimately venerated). The Martyrology assigns several saints to each day of the year and gives a very brief description of each saint or group of saints.

Canonization does not necessarily involve insertion of the saint's name into the General Roman Calendar, which mentions only a very limited selection of canonized saints.

Many sources give calendars that mention one or more saints for each day of the year. One example is Saints by Day. These will usually mention the saints of the General Roman Calendar, but they will also give names of saints not included in the General Roman Calendar, especially on a day, known as a feria, to which the General Roman Calendar assigns no celebration whatever of a saint.

"Feria" is a Latin word that, in ecclesiastical usage, means "weekday"; more precisely, it refers in the calendar to days on which no saint is celebrated. "Ferial" is an adjective formed from "feria" and is used in connection with a noun, as in the phrase "ferial Mass".

The General Calendar is printed, for instance, in the successive editions of the Roman Missal These are up to date when printed, but additional feasts may be added later. For instance, the celebration of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio) on September 23 does not appear in the latest editions of these two books. For that reason, if those celebrating the liturgy have not inserted into the books a note about the changes, they must consult the current annual publication, known as the "Ordo", for their country or religious congregation. Such annual publications indicate only celebrations included in the General Calendar and not impeded, in the year in question, by celebrations such as those of Holy Week or Sundays, and that must therefore be supplemented with information about local celebrations.

General Roman Calendar[]

As already stated, the saints celebrated in one country are not necessarily celebrated everywhere. The General Roman Calendar contains only those celebrations that are intended to be observed throughout the world, in application of the decision of the Second Vatican Council: "Lest the feasts of the saints should take precedence over the feasts which commemorate the very mysteries of salvation, many of them should be left to be celebrated by a particular Church or nation or family of religious; only those should be extended to the universal Church which commemorate saints who are truly of universal importance."Sacrosanctum Concilium, 111.

Variations from the following list of celebrations should be indicated not here but, below, under the heading "National Calendars".

Moveable (General Calendar)[]

  • Sunday after Epiphany or, if Epiphany is celebrated on January 7 or January 8, the following Monday: Baptism of the Lord - Feast
  • Sunday after the first full moon occurring after March 20: Easter - Solemnity
  • Fortieth day from Easter (Thursday after Sixth Sunday of Easter): Ascension of the Lord - Solemnity
  • Fiftieth day from Easter: Pentecost - Solemnity
  • First Sunday after Pentecost: Holy Trinity - Solemnity
  • Thursday after Holy Trinity: Body and Blood of Christ - Solemnity
  • Friday following the second Sunday after Pentecost: Sacred Heart of Jesus - Solemnity
  • Saturday following the second Sunday after Pentecost: Immaculate Heart of Mary - Memorial (if the date coincides with that of another Memorial, both become optional)
  • Last Sunday in Ordinary Time (last Sunday before November 27): Christ the King - Solemnity
  • Sunday within the Octave of Christmas or, if there is no such Sunday, December 30: Holy Family - Feast

Epiphany is celebrated on the Sunday after January 1, the Ascension of the Lord on the Seventh Sunday of Easter, and the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) on the Sunday after Holy Trinity in countries where the Episcopal Conference, with the prior approval of the Apostolic See, has decided that they are not treated as Holy Days of Obligation.

"For the pastoral advantage of the people, it is permissible to observe on the Sundays in Ordinary Time those celebrations that fall during the week and have special appeal to the devotion of the faithful, provided the celebrations take precedence over these Sundays in the Table of Liturgical Days" (General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar, 58).

January (General Calendar)[]

February (General Calendar)[]

March (General Calendar)[]

April (General Calendar)[]

May (General Calendar)[]

June (General Calendar)[]

July (General Calendar)[]

  • July 1: Feria
  • July 2: Feria
  • July 3: Saint Thomas the Apostle - Feast
  • July 4: Saint Elizabeth of Portugal - Optional Memorial
  • July 5: Saint Anthony Zaccaria, priest - Optional Memorial
  • July 6: Saint Maria Goretti, virgin and martyr - Optional Memorial
  • July 7: Feria
  • July 8: Feria
  • July 9: Saint Augustine Zhao Rong and companions, martyrs - Optional Memorial
  • July 10: Feria
  • July 11: Saint Benedict, abbot - Memorial
  • July 12: Feria
  • July 13: Saint Henry - Optional Memorial
  • July 14: Saint Camillus de Lellis, priest - Optional Memorial
  • July 15: Saint Bonaventure, bishop and doctor - Memorial
  • July 16: Our Lady of Mount Carmel - Optional Memorial
  • July 17: Feria
  • July 18: Feria
  • July 19: Feria
  • July 20: Saint Apollinaris - Optional Memorial
  • July 21: Saint Lawrence of Brindisi, priest and doctor - Optional Memorial
  • July 22: Saint Mary Magdalene - Memorial
  • July 23: Saint Birgitta, religious- Optional Memorial
  • July 24: Saint Sharbel Makhluf, hermit - Optional Memorial
  • July 25: Saint James, apostle - Feast
  • July 26: Saints Joachim and Anne - Memorial
  • July 27: Feria
  • July 28: Feria
  • July 29: Saint Martha - Memorial
  • July 30: Saint Peter Chrysologus, bishop and doctor - Optional Memorial
  • July 31: Saint Ignatius of Loyola, priest - Memorial

August (General Calendar)[]

September (General Calendar)[]

October (General Calendar)[]

November (General Calendar)[]

December (General Calendar)[]

National Calendars[]

Only variations from the General Roman Calendar for celebrations according to the Roman Rite are given here. Eastern Rite Catholic Churches have completely different liturgical calendars, as have Latin Rite Catholics that use the Ambrosian and Mozarabic Rites.

Canada[]

  • January 4: Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton (Archdiocese of Halifax) - Memorial
  • January 6: Blessed Andre Bessette - Optional Memorial
  • January 12: Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys - Memorial
  • March 19: Saint Joseph, Patron of Canada - Solemnity
  • April 18: Blessed Marie-Anne Blodin - Optional Memorial
  • April 26: Our Lady of Good Counsel (Catholic Women's League) - Optional Memorial
  • April 30: Blessed Marie of the Incarnation - Optional Memorial
  • May 4: Blessed Marie-Leonie Paradis - Optional Memorial
  • May 6: Blessed Francois de Laval - Optional Memorial
  • May 8: Blessed Catherine of Saint Augustine - Optional Memorial
  • May 21: Saint Eugene de Mazenod - Optional Memorial
  • May 24: Blessed Louis-Zephirin Moreau - Optional Memorial
  • July 14: Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha - Optional Memorial
  • July 26: Saint Anne and Joachim, parents of Mary - Feast
  • August 5: Blessed Frederic Janssoone - Optional Memorial
  • September 4: Blessed Dina Belanger - Optional Memorial
  • September 23: Blessed Emilie Tavernier-Gamelin - Optional Memorial
  • September 26: Saints John de Brebeuf, Isaac Jogues & Comp. - Feast
  • October 6: Blessed Marie-Rose Durocher - Optional Memorial
  • October 16: Saint Marie-Marguerite d'Youville - Memorial
  • December 12: Our Lady of Guadalupe - Feast

England[]

According to the English national calendar:

  • January 12 Saint Aelred of Rievaulx - Optional Memorial
  • January 19 Saint Wulstan - Optional Memorial
  • February 14: Saints Cyril, Monk and Methodius - Feast
  • March 1: Saint David of Wales - Feast
  • March 17: Saint Patrick - Feast
  • April 21: Saint Anselm of Canterbury - Optional Memorial
  • April 23: Saint George - Solemnity
  • April 24: Saint Adelbert or Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen - Optional Memorial
  • April 29: Saint Catherine of Siena - Feast
  • May 4: The English Martyrs - Memorial
  • May 19: Saint Dunstan - Optional Memorial
  • May 25: Saint Bede the Venerable - Memorial
  • May 27: Saint Augustine (Austin) of Canterbury - Memorial
  • June 9: Saint Columba - Optional Memorial
  • June 16: Saint Richard of Chichester - Optional Memorial
  • June 20: Saint Alban - Optional Memorial
  • June 22: Saints John Fisher and Thomas More- Feast
  • June 23: Saint Etheldreda (Audrey) - Optional Memorial
  • July 1: Saint Oliver Plunket - Optional Memorial
  • July 11: Saint Benedict - Feast
  • July 23: Saint Bridget - Feast
  • August 9: Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) - Feast
  • August 26: Blessed Dominic of the Mother of God - Optional Memorial
  • August 30: Saints Margaret Clitherow, Anne Line and Margaret Ward - Optional Memorial
  • August 31: Saint Aidan and Saints of Lindisfarne - Optional Memorial
  • September 4: Saint Cuthbert - Optional Memorial
  • September 19: Saint Theodore of Canterbury - Optional Memorial
  • September 24: Our Lady of Walsingham - Memorial
  • October 10: Saint Paulinus of York - Optional Memorial
  • October 12: Saint Wilfrid - Optional Memorial
  • October 13: Saint Edward the Confessor - Optional Memorial
  • October 26: Saints Chad and Cedd - Optional Memorial
  • November 3: Saint Winefride - Optional Memorial
  • November 7: Saint Willibrord - Optional Memorial
  • November 16: Saint Edmund of Abingdon or Saint Margaret of Scotland - Optional Memorial
  • November 17: Saint Hilda or Saint Hugh of Lincoln or Saint Elizabeth of Hungary - Optional Memorial

Greece[]

Ireland[]

According to the national calendar of Ireland:

  • January 3: Saint Munchin (Mainchin) - Optional Memorial
  • January 15: Saint Ita - Memorial
  • January 16: Saint Fursa - Optional Memorial
  • January 30: Saint Aidan (Maedoc) - Optional Memorial
  • February 1: Saint Brigid - Feast
  • February 7: Saint Mel - Optional Memorial
  • February 11: Saint Gobnait - Optional Memorial
  • February 14: Saints Cyril and Methodius - Feast
  • February 17: Saint Fintan - Optional Memorial
  • March 1: Saint David of Wales - Optional Memorial
  • March 5: Saint Kieran - Optional Memorial
  • March 8: Saint Senan - Optional Memorial
  • March 11: Saint Aengus (Oengus) - Optional Memorial
  • March 17: Saint Patrick - Solemnity
  • March 21: Saint Enda - Optional Memorial
  • March 24: Saint Macartan - Optional Memorial
  • April 1: Saint Ceallach (Celsus) - Optional Memorial
  • April 18: Saint Laserian (Molaise) - Optional Memorial
  • April 27: Saint Asicus
  • April 29: Saint Catherine of Siena - Feast
  • May 4: Saint Conleth - Optional Memorial
  • May 5: Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice - Optional Memorial
  • May 10: Saint Comgall - Optional Memorial
  • May 15: Saint Carthage (Mochuta) - Optional Memorial
  • May 16: Saint Brendan - Optional Memorial
  • June 3: Saint Kevin - Memorial
  • June 6: Saint Jarlath - Optional Memorial
  • June 7: Saint Colman of Dromore - Optional Memorial
  • June 9: Saint Columba (Colum Cille) - Feast
  • June 14: Saint Davnet - Optional Memorial
  • June 20: Blessed Irish Martyrs - Memorial
  • July 1: Saint Oliver Plunket - Memorial
  • July 6: Saint Moninne of Killeavy - Optional Memorial
  • July 7: Saint Maelruain (Maolruain) - Optional Memorial
  • July 8: Saint Killian - Optional Memorial
  • July 11: Saint Benedict - Feast
  • July 23: Saint Birgitta - Feast
  • July 24: Saint Declan - Optional Memorial
  • August 9: Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) - Feast
  • August 9: In the revised liturgical calendar for Ireland, approved by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments on October 1 1998 (Protocol No. 227/97/L), optional memorials of Saint Nathy and Saint Felim were assigned to this day; outside the dioceses that celebrate them with a higher rank, their celebrations are impeded by that of Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, who was later declared one of the patron saints of Europe.
  • August 12: Saint Muiredach, Saint Attracta, or Saint Lelia (Liadain) - Optional Memorials
  • August 13: Saint Fachtna (Fachanan) - Optional Memorial
  • August 23: Saint Eugene (Eoghan) - Optional Memorial
  • August 30: Saint Fiacre - Optional Memorial
  • August 31: Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne - Optional Memorial
  • September 4: Saint Mac Nissi - Optional Memorial
  • September 9: Saint Ciaran - Memorial
  • September 12: Saint Ailbe - Optional Memorial
  • September 23: The celebration of Saint Eunan (Adomnan) as an optional memorial is now generally impeded by the later assignation to this date in the General Calendar of the obligatory memorial of Saint Pio of Pietralcina
  • September 25: Saint Finbarr - Optional Memorial
  • October 3: Blessed Columba Marmion - Optional Memorial (in some places)
  • October 11: Saint Canice - Optional Memorial
  • October 16: Saint Gall - Optional Memorial
  • October 27: Saint Otteran - Optional Memorial
  • October 29: Saint Colman of Kilmacduagh - Optional Memorial
  • November 3: Saint Malachy - Memorial
  • November 6: All Saints of Ireland - Feast
  • November 7: Saint Willibrord - Optional Memorial
  • November 14: Saint Laurence O'Toole - Optional Memorial
  • November 23: Saint Columban - Memorial
  • November 25 Saint Colman of Cloyne - Optional Memorial
  • November 27 Saint Fergal (Virgil) - Optional Memorial
  • December 12 Saint Finnian of Clonard - Optional Memorial
  • December 18 Saint Flannan - Optional Memorial
  • December 20 Saint Fachanan - Optional Memorial

Malta[]

This is the Litugical Calendar of Malta and Gozo:

  • January 1: Our Lady Mother of God - Feast (public holiday)
  • First Sunday of the Year: Epiphany - Feast
  • January 13: Saint Ilarius - Memorial
  • January 17: Saint Antony - Memorial
  • January 20: Saint Sebastian - Memorial (mostly at Qormi)
  • January 22: Saint Publius - Memorial (mostly at Floriana)
  • January 24: Saint Frances de Sales - Memorial
  • January 25: Conversion of Saint Paul - Feast (mostly at Mdina, Munxar and Safi)
  • January 28: Saint Thomas of Aquino - Memorial
  • January 31: Saint John Bosco - Memorial
  • February 2: Presentation of Christ - Feast
  • February 5: Saint Agatha - Memorial
  • February 10: Saint Paul the birth of Maltese Church - Feast (public holiday)
  • February 11: Our Lady of Lourdes - Optional Memorial (mostly as San Ġwann and Paola)
  • February 22: Catedra of Saint Peter - Feast
  • February 25: Blessed Maria Adeodata Pisani - Optional Memorial
  • March 19: Saint Joseph - Feast (a public holiday)
  • March 25: Annunciation - Feast (mostly at Tarxien and Balzan)
  • Friday before Good Friday: Our Lady of Sorrows - Memorial
  • Wednesday after Easter: Saint Gregory I - Feast (mostly at Żejtun)
  • April 7: Saint John Baptist de la Salle - Memorial
  • April 23: Saint George - Memorial in Malta and Feast in Gozo (mostly at Qormi and Rabat)
  • April 25: Saint Mark - Feast
  • April 29: Saint Catherine of Siena - Feast
  • April 30: Saint Pius V - Memorial
  • May 9: Saint George Preca - Feast (the first saint of Malta)
  • May 13: Our Lady of Fatima - Feast (mostly at [[Pietà, Malta|Pietà)
  • May 31: Vistation of Our Lady - Feast (mostly at Għarb)
  • June 3: Sacred Heart of Jesus - Feast (mostly at Fontana)
  • June 4: Sacred Heart of Mary - Memorial (mostly at Sliema and Burmarrad)
  • June 13: Saint Anthony of Padua - Memorial
  • June 24: Nativity of Saint John the Baptist - Feast (mostly as Xewkija)
  • June 29: Saint Peter and Saint Paul - Feast (mostly at Mdina and Nadur) also a public holiday
  • July 1: Blessed Nazju Falzon - Memorial
  • July 6: Saint Mary Goretti - Memorial
  • July 22: Saint Mary Magdalena - Memorial
  • July 26: Parents of Our Lady - Memorial (mostly at Marsaskala and Dwejra)
  • August 6: Trasfiguration - Feast (mostly at Lija)
  • August 8: Saint Dominic - Memorial (mostly at Valletta and Birgu)
  • August 10: Saint Lawrence - Feast (mostly at Birgu and San Lawrenz)
  • August 15: Assumption of Mary - Feast (public holiday)(mostly at Ghaxaq)
  • August 22: Mary the Queen - Memorial (mostly at Marsa)
  • August 24: Saint Bartholmeo - Feast (mostly at Għargħur)
  • August 27: Saint Monica - Memorial
  • September 8: Our Lady of Victories - Feast (public holiday)
  • September 12: Holy Names of Mary -Memorial
  • September 14: Holy Cross - Feast
  • September 27: Saint Vincent de Paule - Memorial
  • October 7: Our Lady of Rosary - Memorial
  • October 8: Cathedrale Feast - Feast
  • October 18: Saint Luke - Feast
  • October 21: Saint Orsola - Memorial only in Gozo
  • November 1: All Saints Day - Feast (semi-public holiday)
  • November 2: All Souls Day - Feast (semi-public holiday)
  • November 11: Saint Martin - Memorial (mostly at Baħrija)
  • November 25: Saint Catherine of Alexandria - Memorial (mostly at Żejtun and Żurrieq)
  • December 8: Immacualte Conception - Feast (public holiday)
  • December 13: Saint Lucy - Feast (public holiday)
  • December 14: Saint John of the Cross - Feast (mostly at Ta' Xbiex)
  • December 25: Christmas - Feast (public holiday)

Portugal[]

Scotland[]

United States[]

According to the national calendar of the United States:

  • January 4: Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, religious - Memorial
  • January 5: Saint John Neumann, bishop - Memorial
  • January 6: Blessed André Bessette, religious - Optional Memorial
  • March 3: Saint Katharine Drexel, virgin - Optional Memorial
  • May 10: Blessed Damien Joseph de Veuster of Moloka'i, priest - Optional Memorial
  • May 15: Saint Isidore (the Farmer) - Optional Memorial
  • July 1: Blessed Junípero Serra, priest - Optional Memorial
  • July 14: Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, virgin - Memorial
  • July 18: Saint Camillus de Lellis, priest - Optional Memorial
  • August 18: Saint Jane Frances de Chantal, religious - Optional Memorial
  • September 9: Saint Peter Claver, priest - Memorial
  • October 6: Blessed Marie-Rose Durocher, virgin - Optional Memorial
  • October 19: Saints John de Brébeuf and Isaac Jogues, priests and martyrs, and their companions, martyrs - Memorial
  • October 20: Saint Paul of the Cross, priest - Optional Memorial
  • November 13: Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, virgin - Memorial
  • November 18: Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne, virgin - Optional Memorial
  • November 23: Blessed Miguel Agustin Pro, priest and martyr - Optional Memorial
  • December 12: Our Lady of Guadalupe - Feast

Wales[]

According to the national calendar of Wales:

  • February 9: Saint Teilo - Optional Memorial
  • February 14: Saints Cyril, Monk and Methodius - Feast
  • March 1: Saint David of Wales - Solemnity
  • April 20: Saint Beuno - Optional Memorial
  • April 29: Saint Catherine of Siena - Feast
  • May 5: Saint Asaph - Optional Memorial
  • June 20: Saints Alban, Julius and Aaron - Optional Memorial
  • June 22: Saints John Fisher and Thomas More- Memorial
  • July 11: Saint Benedict - Feast
  • July 12: Saint John Jones - Optional Memorial
  • July 23: Saint Birgitta - Feast
  • July 25: Saints Philip Evans and John Lloyd - Optional Memorial
  • August 3: Saint Germanus of Auxerre - Optional Memorial
  • August 9: Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) - Feast
  • August 26: Saint David Lewis - Optional Memorial
  • September 11: Saint Deiniol - Optional Memorial
  • October 16: Saint Richard Gwyn - Optional Memorial
  • October 25: The Six Welsh Martyrs and Companions - Feast
  • November 3: Saint Winefride - Optional Memorial
  • November 6: Saint Illtud - Optional Memorial
  • November 8: All Saints of Wales - Feast
  • November 14: Saint Dubricius - Optional Memorial
  • December 10: Saint John Roberts - Optional Memorial

Local calendars[]

The calendar for a diocese is typically based on a national calendar, such as those listed above, with a few additions. For instance, the anniversary of the dedication of the cathedral of the diocese is celebrated as a feast throughout the diocese, as is the titulus of the cathedral.

The calendar of a parish is based on the calendar of its diocese, but in addition to the celebrations in the diocesan calendar, there are the anniversary of the dedication of the parish church and the celebration of the titulus of the church, which are celebrated as Solemnities.

Other calendars[]

Each institute of consecrated life (Roman Catholic religious order, secular institute etc.) also has its own calendar, with variations from the General Calendar.

External links[]

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