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General Roman Calendar

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.

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 of Pope Paul VI, . The and the decree of promulgation were included in the book , published in the same year by . 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.

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 certain saints, (e.g., Christopher) were "unsainted" in 1969 or that veneration of them was "suppressed". Christopher is recognized as a saint of the Catholic Church, being listed as a martyr in the Roman Martyrology under 25 July. In 1969, when Paul VI issued , he said that the written Acts of Saint Christopher are legendary, and attestations to the veneration of the martyr date from ancient times. His change in the calendar of saints included "leaving the memorial of Saint Christopher to local calendars", because of the relatively late date of its insertion into the Roman calendar.

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, which states that "throughout the course of the year the Church unfolds the entire mystery of Christ and observes the birthdays of the Saints". A saint's feast day is as a rule celebrated on a fixed day of the year, and sometimes they may be moved either to or from a Sunday. The mysteries of Christ are often celebrated on dates that always vary from year to year.

The Catholic Church's year combines two cycles of liturgical celebrations. One is called the Proper of Time or , 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 . The General Roman Calendar includes celebrations that belong to the Proper of Time or as well as Proper of Saints or . An instance where two observances occur on the same date is called an occurrence.

Transfer of celebrations

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

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. Celebrations that are added or changed are cited from official decrees.

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

January

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.
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.)

February

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

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

On 25 January 2021, Pope Francis inscribed Saint John of Avila, Priest and Doctor of the Church, in the General Roman Calendar.
On 25 January 2019, Pope Francis inscribed Saint Paul VI, Pope, in the General Roman Calendar.
On 11 February 2018, Pope Francis inscribed Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, in the General Roman Calendar. 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.
The solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ can be transferred to the following Sunday in particular calendars.

June

The title Doctor of the Church was conferred on Saint Irenaeus by Pope Francis on 21 January 2022.
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.
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.

July

  • 3 July: Saint Thomas, Apostle – feast
  • 4 July: Saint Elizabeth of Portugal – optional memorial
  • 5 July: Saint Anthony Zaccaria, Priest – optional memorial
  • 6 July: Saint Maria Goretti, Virgin and Martyr – optional memorial
  • 9 July: Saint Augustine Zhao Rong, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs – optional memorial
  • 11 July: Saint Benedict, Abbot – memorial
  • 13 July: Saint Henry – optional memorial
  • 14 July: Saint Camillus de Lellis, Priest – optional memorial
  • 15 July: Saint Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church – memorial
  • 16 July: Our Lady of Mount Carmel – optional memorial
  • 20 July: Saint Apollinaris, Bishop and Martyr – optional memorial
  • 21 July: Saint Lawrence of Brindisi, Priest and Doctor of the Church – optional memorial
  • 22 July: Saint Mary Magdalene – feast
  • 23 July: Saint Bridget, Religious – optional memorial
  • 24 July: Saint Sharbel Makhluf, Priest – optional memorial
  • 25 July: Saint James, Apostle – feast
  • 26 July: Saints Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary – memorial
  • 29 July: Saints Martha, Mary and Lazarus – memorial
  • 30 July: Saint Peter Chrysologus, Bishop and Doctor of the Church – optional memorial
  • 31 July: Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Priest – memorial
Pope Francis raised the rank of the celebration of Saint Mary Magdalene to feast on 3 June 2016.
Pope Francis decreed on 26 January 2021 that Saints Mary and Lazarus of Bethany are to be celebrated alongside of Saint Martha.

August

September

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

October

On 18 May 2020, Pope Francis inscribed Saint Faustina Kowalska, Virgin, in the General Roman Calendar.
On 29 May 2014, Pope Francis inscribed Saint John XXIII, Pope, in the General Roman Calendar.
On 29 May 2014, Pope Francis inscribed Saint John Paul II, Pope, in the General Roman Calendar.
On 3 February 2026, Pope Leo inscribed Saint John Henry Newman, Priest and Doctor of the Church, in the General Roman Calendar.

November

December

On 31 October 2019, Pope Francis inscribed Our Lady of Loreto in the General Roman Calendar.

Particular calendars

The General Calendar is printed, for instance, in the Roman Missal and the Liturgy of the Hours. 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, 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."

Institutional and societal calendars

National calendars

Personal jurisdiction calendars

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.

See also

References

Further reading

External links