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General Roman Calendar

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The 1960 General Roman Calendar in the Roman Breviary
The 1960 General Roman Calendar in the Roman Breviary

General Roman Calendar is the universal calendar that orders the principal celebrations of the Roman Rite's Proper of Time and the saints observed throughout the Latin Church.

Overview

The General Roman Calendar (GRC) is the liturgical calendar in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. It indicates the dates of celebrations of saints and mysteries of Jesus according to Christianity wherever this liturgical rite is in use. Some celebrations are a fixed annual date, or occur on a particular day of the week, for example the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord in January and the Feast of Christ the King in November. Other dates relate to the date of Easter, such as the celebrations of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Universal calendar of the Roman Rite

The General Roman Calendar contains the annual cycle of the mystery of Christ in the Proper of Time and a selective Proper of Saints whose members possess universal significance or display the Church's universality and continuity of holiness. It identifies dates and ranks, while the Roman Missal, Roman Lectionary, and Liturgy of the Hours supply the corresponding texts. A calendar entry is therefore not a miniature biography or Mass formulary. It is the juridical and liturgical assignment by which a celebration enters the universal ordering of Roman worship.[1]

Universal does not mean exhaustive. Thousands of canonized saints and blesseds do not appear in the General Calendar, and omission implies no doubt about their holiness. The Roman Martyrology commemorates a far wider company. Nations, dioceses, parishes, churches, religious institutes, and other competent bodies possess approved proper calendars that add or raise celebrations connected to them. The actual calendar at a particular altar is the General Calendar as lawfully enriched by the applicable propers, not a choice between universal and local devotion.

Proper of Time and Proper of Saints

The temporal cycle follows Sundays, seasons, and movable celebrations centered on the Paschal mystery. The sanctoral cycle assigns fixed or occasionally movable celebrations of the Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary, angels, saints, and blesseds. These cycles meet under the Table of Liturgical Days. A fixed memorial printed on a date can be impeded by a Sunday or higher celebration, while a solemnity can be transferred under its governing norm. The saint remains commemorated in the Martyrology even when not celebrated liturgically that year.

General Calendar, proper calendar, and annual Ordo

The General Calendar is a stable universal norm; a proper calendar adds celebrations for a territory or community; an annual Ordo applies those norms to actual dates for a given year and place. A civil-year calendar issued by a bishops' conference can list rank, color, Lectionary numbers, and Psalter week, but it remains an application rather than the source of universal rank. Distinguishing the three prevents a national memorial from being called universal and prevents a universal optional memorial from being described as obligatory merely because a publisher highlights it.[2][3]

Rank, precedence, and obligation

The Calendar uses precise ranks: solemnity, feast, obligatory memorial, optional memorial, and weekday, with special seasonal days governed by the Universal Norms. Rank determines liturgical elements and precedence, not the saint's degree of holiness. Feast is therefore not a generic label for every saint's day. When celebrations coincide, the Table of Liturgical Days and specific decrees determine precedence, transfer, omission, or permitted commemoration. The minister cannot settle a collision by popularity, patron preference, or the quantity of material available for one observance.

Holy-day obligation is a related but distinct canonical question. Sunday is the primordial holy day, and canon law names additional solemnities while permitting conferences of bishops, with the Apostolic See's approval, to suppress or transfer obligations. Not every solemnity is a holy day of obligation in every country, and no memorial becomes obligatory attendance because it is obligatory liturgically. A calendar serving users must therefore identify the territory before declaring an obligation and must distinguish a celebration's rank from the faithful's precept to participate in Mass.[4][5]

Promulgation, additions, and accurate application

Saint Paul VI promulgated the reformed General Roman Calendar in 1969 following the Second Vatican Council. The Holy See has amended it by decrees adding or changing celebrations and supplying coordinated texts for the Missal, Lectionary, and Hours. Canonization by itself does not automatically place a saint on the General Calendar; universal inscription is a further liturgical act. Particular calendars likewise require the competent approval and confirmation. A website or publisher should never infer a universal date or rank from devotional custom alone.

Accurate annual application requires movable-date calculation, leap years, the relationship of civil and liturgical days, time zones, transfers, and overlapping proper calendars. The liturgical day ordinarily runs from midnight to midnight, while Sundays and solemnities begin with First Vespers and some celebrations have vigils. A calendar interface should state its territory and civil time basis, preserve joint commemorations, and distinguish the principal celebration from other Martyrology saints of the date. These technical rules serve theological truth: the Church, not an algorithm's guess, determines what she celebrates.

Description

National and diocesan calendars, including that of the Diocese of Rome itself as well as the calendars of religious institutes and even of continents, add other saints and mysteries or transfer the celebration of a particular saint or mystery from the date assigned in the General Calendar to another date.

These liturgical calendars indicate the degree or rank of each celebration: memorial (which can be optional), 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. The Nicene Creed is added on solemnities.

The last general revision of the General Roman Calendar was in 1969 and was authorized by the motu proprio of Pope Paul VI, Mysterii Paschalis. The motu proprio and the decree of promulgation were included in the book Calendarium Romanum, published in the same year by Libreria Editrice Vaticana.[6] This contained the official document Universal Norms on the Liturgical Year and the Calendar, and the list of celebrations of the General Roman Calendar. Both these documents are printed, in their present revised form, in the Roman Missal, after the General Instruction of the Roman Missal.[7][8]

Selection of saints included

Saints included in General Roman Calendar are a selection of canonized saints. All canonized saints' names are added to the Roman Martyrology.

There is a common misconception that for certain saints (e.g., Christopher), veneration was "suppressed" as part of changes by the Second Vatican Council. In fact, those saints remain recognized, being listed as martyrs in the Roman Martyrology[9] or celebrated in regional calendars. In 1969, in Mysterii Paschalis, Pope Paul VI wrote, with reference to Saint Christopher, that the Acts of Saint Christopher are legendary, despite attestations to the veneration of the martyr dating from ancient times. His changes to the calendar of saints included "leaving the memorial of Saint Christopher to local calendars", because of the relatively late date of its addition to what was then the Tridentine calendar.[10]

Liturgical year

In the liturgical books, the document General Roman Calendar, which lists fixed celebrations and some moveable ones, is printed immediately after the document Universal Norms on the Liturgical Year and the Calendar,[7][8] which states that "throughout the course of the year the Church unfolds the entire mystery of Christ and observes the birthdays of the Saints". Certain mysteries of Christ are celebrated on dates that vary from year to year.[11]

The Catholic Church's year combines two cycles of liturgical celebrations. One is called the Proper of Time or Temporale, associated with the moveable date of Easter and the fixed date of Christmas. The other is associated with fixed calendar dates and is called the Proper of Saints or Sanctorale.[12] The General Roman Calendar includes celebrations that belong to the Proper of Time or Temporale as well as Proper of Saints or Sanctorale. An instance where two observances occur on the same date is called an occurrence.[13]

Transfer of celebrations

Some celebrations listed in the General Roman Calendar are transferred to another date:

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.[14]

List of celebrations inscribed in the GRC

This list contains all celebrations currently inscribed in the General Roman Calendar. It is updated whenever the pope makes changes to the celebrations in the General Roman Calendar.

When no citation is provided for a particular celebration, it comes from Calendarium Romanum Generale (General Roman Calendar) as printed in the Latin original of Roman Missal, ed. typ. tertia (reimpressio emendata), released in 2008.[15] Celebrations that are added or changed are cited from official decrees.

Celebration names are used from English Roman Missal (2018).

January

^a The solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord is always celebrated on 6 January in the General Roman Calendar, however, in particular calendars, it might be transferred to Sunday before, on or after 6 January.
^b When the solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord is transferred to Sunday, which occurs on 7 or 8 January, the feast of the Baptism of the Lord is celebrated on the following Monday. (Ubi sollemnitas Epiphaniæ ad dominicam transfertur, quæ die 7 vel 8 ianuarii occurrit, festum Baptismatis Domini celebratur feria secunda sequenti.)[15]

February

^a On 25 January 2021, Pope Francis inscribed Saint Gregory of Narek, Abbot and Doctor of the Church, in the General Roman Calendar.[16]

March

April

  • 2 April: Saint Francis of Paola, Hermit – optional memorial
  • 4 April: Saint Isidore, Bishop and Doctor of the Church – optional memorial
  • 5 April: Saint Vincent Ferrer, Priest – optional memorial
  • 7 April: Saint John Baptist de la Salle, Priest – memorial
  • 11 April: Saint Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr – memorial
  • 13 April: Saint Martin I, Pope and Martyr – optional memorial
  • 21 April: Saint Anselm, Bishop and Doctor of the Church – optional memorial
  • 23 April: Saint George, Martyr – optional memorial
  • 23 April: Saint Adalbert, Bishop and Martyr – optional memorial
  • 24 April: Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen, Priest and Martyr – optional memorial
  • 25 April: Saint Mark, Evangelist – feast
  • 28 April: Saint Peter Chanel, Priest and Martyr – optional memorial
  • 28 April: Saint Louis Grignon de Montfort, Priest – optional memorial
  • 29 April: Saint Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church – memorial
  • 30 April: Saint Pius V, Pope – optional memorial

May

^a On 25 January 2021, Pope Francis inscribed Saint John of Avila, Priest and Doctor of the Church, in the General Roman Calendar.[16]
^b On 25 January 2019, Pope Francis inscribed Saint Paul VI, Pope, in the General Roman Calendar.[17]
^c On 11 February 2018, Pope Francis inscribed Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, in the General Roman Calendar.[18] In years when the memorial of the Mother of the Church coincides with another obligatory memorial, only the memorial of the Mother of the Church will be celebrated for that year.[19]
^d The solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ can be transferred to the following Sunday in particular calendars.

June

^a The title Doctor of the Church was conferred on Saint Irenaeus by Pope Francis on 21 January 2022.[20]
^b In 2022, the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus coincided with the solemnity of the Nativity of John the Baptist. The Holy See kept the solemnity of the Sacred Heart on 24 June and brought forward the Nativity of John the Baptist to 23 June, except in locations where John the Baptist is the patron saint, where the reverse applied.[21]
^c In years when the memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary coincides with another obligatory memorial, both must be considered optional for that year.[22]

July

^a Pope Francis raised the rank of the celebration of Saint Mary Magdalene to feast on 3 June 2016.[23]
^b Pope Francis decreed on 26 January 2021 that Saints Mary and Lazarus of Bethany are to be celebrated alongside of Saint Martha.[24]

August

September

^a On 11 February 2025, Pope Francis inscribed Saint Teresa of Calcutta, Virgin, in the General Roman Calendar.[25]
^b On 25 January 2021, Pope Francis inscribed Saint Hildegard of Bingen, Virgin and Doctor of the Church, in the General Roman Calendar.[16]

October

^a On 18 May 2020, Pope Francis inscribed Saint Faustina Kowalska, Virgin, in the General Roman Calendar.[26]
^b On 29 May 2014, Pope Francis inscribed Saint John XXIII, Pope, in the General Roman Calendar.[27]
^c On 29 May 2014, Pope Francis inscribed Saint John Paul II, Pope, in the General Roman Calendar.[27]
^d On 3 February 2026, Pope Leo inscribed Saint John Henry Newman, Priest and Doctor of the Church, in the General Roman Calendar.[28]

November

December

^a On 31 October 2019, Pope Francis inscribed Our Lady of Loreto in the General Roman Calendar.[29]

Particular calendars

The General Calendar is printed, for instance, in the Roman Missal[30] and the Liturgy of the Hours.[31] These are up to date when printed, but additional feasts may be added later. 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.

These annual publications, like those that, disregarding the feasts that are obligatory in the actual church where the liturgy is celebrated, list only celebrations included in the General Calendar,[32] are useful only for the current year, since they omit celebrations impeded because of falling on a Sunday or during periods such as Holy Week and the Octave of Easter.

This distinction is made 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."[33]

Diocesan and parish calendars

The calendar for a diocese is typically based on a national calendar, with a few additions. For instance, the anniversary of the dedication of the cathedral is celebrated as a solemnity in the cathedral church and as a feast in all the other churches of the diocese. The feast day of the principal patron saint of the diocese is celebrated as a feast throughout the diocese.[34]

See also

References

  1. Back to citation Decree inscribing Saint Paul VI in the General Roman Calendar — A representative Holy See decree showing how a new universal celebration is inserted coherently into the General Roman Calendar, Roman Missal, Roman Lectionary, and Liturgy of the Hours.
  2. Back to citation USCCB, Liturgical Year and Calendar — The bishops' conference presentation of the Universal Norms, Proper of Time, Proper of Saints, General Roman Calendar, universal significance of celebrations, and later additions by the Holy See.
  3. Back to citation USCCB, Liturgical Calendar for the Dioceses of the United States — The bishops' conference explanation of how a national proper calendar, annual civil-year calendar, celebration rank, color, Lectionary citation, and Hours cycle apply the General Roman Calendar.
  4. Back to citation Sacrosanctum Concilium — Vatican II's constitution on the authority, revision, pastoral purpose, scriptural abundance, sacred music, noble simplicity, and faithful celebration of the Church's liturgy.
  5. Back to citation Code of Canon Law, canons 1244–1253 — Universal Latin canon law on Sundays, holy days of obligation, episcopal-conference competence to suppress or transfer obligations, participation in Mass, rest, and days of penance.
  6. Back to citation Catholic Church (1969). Calendarium Romanum (1969).
  7. Back to citation occurrence 7.0 Back to citation occurrence 7.1 The Roman Missal (Liturgy Training Publications ISBN 978-1-56854-991-0)
  8. Back to citation occurrence 8.0 Back to citation occurrence 8.1 "Missale Romanum 2002". Scribd.
  9. Back to citation Martyrologium Romanum (Typis Vaticanis, 2001 ISBN 88-209-7210-7)
  10. Back to citation "Memoria S. Christophori, anno circiter 1550 in Calendario romano ascripta, Calendariis particularibus relinquitur: quamvis Acta S. Christophori fabulosa sint, antiqua inveniuntur monumenta eius venerationis; attamen cultus huius Sancti non pertinet ad traditionem romanam" – Calendarium Romanum (Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis 1969), p. 131.
  11. Back to citation "Celebrating the Liturgy's Books". www.columbia.edu. Retrieved 6 November 2018; "Proper of Saints | Christianity". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 6 November 2018; "Definition of Sanctorale". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 6 November 2018; "Dictionary: Proper of the Saints". www.catholicculture.org. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  12. Back to citation "Celebrating the Liturgy's Books". www.columbia.edu. Retrieved 6 November 2018; "Proper of Saints | Christianity". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 6 November 2018; "Definition of Sanctorale". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 6 November 2018; "Dictionary: Proper of the Saints". www.catholicculture.org. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  13. Back to citation Cabrol, Fernand (1913). "Occurrence". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  14. Back to citation "Catholic News, Commentary, Information, Resources, and the Liturgical Year". www.catholicculture.org.
  15. Back to citation occurrence 15.0 Back to citation occurrence 15.1 "Calendarium Romanum Generale". Missale Romanum [Roman Missal] (in Latin) (Editio typica tertia, reimpressio emendata ed.). Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 2008. pp. 105–116. ISBN 978-88-2098-120-4.
  16. Back to citation occurrence 16.0 Back to citation occurrence 16.1 Back to citation occurrence 16.2 "Decree on the Inscription of the Celebrations of Saint Gregory of Narek, Abbot and Doctor of the Church, Saint John De Avila, Priest and Doctor of the Church and Saint Hildegard of Bingen, Virgin and Doctor of the Church, in the General Roman Calendar (25 January 2021)". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  17. Back to citation "Decree on the Inscription of the Celebration of Saint Paul VI, Pope, in the General Roman Calendar (25 January 2019)". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  18. Back to citation "Decree on the Celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary Mother of the Church in the General Roman Calendar (11 February 2018)". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  19. Back to citation "Notification on the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church (24 March 2018)". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  20. Back to citation "Decree of the Holy Father for the Conferral of the title of Doctor of the Church on Saint Irenaeus of Lyon (21 January 2022)". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  21. Back to citation "Responsum ad dubia de calendario liturgico exarando pro Anno 2022 (11 May 2022)" (PDF). www.cultodivino.va. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 July 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  22. Back to citation "De occurrentia memoriæ obligatoriæ Immaculati Cordis Beatæ Mariæ Virginis una cum altera memoria eiusdem gradus (8 December 1998)". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  23. Back to citation "Decree (3 June 2016)" (PDF). www.vatican.va. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  24. Back to citation "Decree on the Celebration of Saints Martha, Mary and Lazarus in the General Roman Calendar (26 January 2021)". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  25. Back to citation "Decree the inscription of the celebration of Saint Teresa of Calcutta, Virgin, in the General Roman Calendar (11 February 2025)". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
  26. Back to citation "Decree on the Inscription of the Celebration of Saint Faustina Kowalska, Virgin, in the General Roman Calendar (18 May 2020)". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  27. Back to citation occurrence 27.0 Back to citation occurrence 27.1 "Decree (29 May 2014)". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  28. Back to citation "DDecreto sull'iscrizione della celebrazione di san Giovanni Enrico Newman, presbitero e dottore della Chiesa, nel Calendario Romano Generale (3 February 2026)". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
  29. Back to citation "Decree on the Celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Loreto to be Inscribed in the General Roman Calendar (31 October 2019)". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  30. Back to citation Missale Romanum, editio typica tertia 2002, Libreria Editrice Vaticana
  31. Back to citation Liturgia Horarum iuxta ritum Romanum, editio typica altera 2000, Libreria Editrice Vaticana
  32. Back to citation An example is Ordo Missae Celebrandae et Divini Officii persolvendi secundum calendarium Romanum generale pro anno liturgico 2006 (Libreria Editrice Vaticana).
  33. Back to citation "Sacrosanctum concilium". www.vatican.va. Archived from the original on 21 February 2008.
  34. Back to citation General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar, Table of Liturgical Days according to their order of precedence, 4 and 8.

Further reading

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