Solemnities, Feasts & Memorials

Has this ever happened to you?

• Before Mass starts, you prepare by looking up the readings in advance.

• You pray with the scriptures, spiritually preparing to enter more deeply into the Liturgy of the Word.

• The readings proclaimed during Mass are different than the ones you prayed with.

​​​​​​​Rest assured, it happens to even the most knowledgeable Catholics!

On this page, we explain the complexities of the Calendar of Saints... as simply as we can.

Like almost world religions, Christianity organize many of their celebrations according to repeating astronomical events. Below, we discuss the cycles used in the Christian calendar.

The main experience of the passing of time for people is the day. Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike esteem praying at various times of the day. While Christians usually consider the span of the day to run from midnight to midnight, we rely on the Jewish conception of the day beginning at sunset for more important days. For example, Masses celebrated after 4 p.m. on Saturday "count" for the obligation of Catholics to attend Mass on Sundays.

The Church has designated different prayers and/or readings for the vigil Masses before specific feast days. Many Catholics are familiar with the different readings and prayers used on Christmas Eve and the Easter Vigil. The Church also has options for different prayers and/or readings for the vigils of Epiphany, the Ascension (if it's celebrated on a Wednesday evening), Pentecost, the Nativity of John the Baptist, Saints Peter and Paul, and the Assumption of Mary.

Our communal worship is organized by the week, with Sundays taking precedence in our celebrations. The liturgical seasons of the year are determined by weeks, too. For example, Advent begins four Sundays before Christmas Day, and Lent begins seven Wednesdays before Easter Sunday.

While the cycle of the moon is very important in organizing the Jewish and Muslim calendars, it plays a limited role in the Christian calendar. The one exception is the determination of the date of Easter Sunday, which is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere. Although the calendar date of the first day of spring can vary due to a number of factors, including the existence of time zones, the Church consistently considers March 21 to be the first day of spring each year.

The liturgical seasons -- and the celebration of particular saints -- occur once a year. The Calendar of Saints is the entire list of celebrations in the year that are linked to specific calendar days of the year, regardless of the day of the week. Most of these celebrations are memorials of specific saints, but there are plenty of other kinds of celebrations. For example, every August 6, we observe the Feast of the Transfiguration. On November 9, we celebrate the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, the first building in the world built exclusively for Christian worship.

In the revised Catholic lectionary of 1969, our readings for Mass are organized into multi-year cycles, with a three-year cycle for Sunday readings, and a two-year cycle for the other days of the week.

Different celebrations in the life of the Church have different levels of importance as you'll note below. The various conferences of bishops around the world can designate certain days as more important in the life of the local community. 

The most important days of the Church year are solemnities. Some of these are designated as holy days of obligation. The four most important solemnities in order, are:

• Easter Sunday - the first Sunday after the first full moon after March 21

• Christmas Day* - December 25

• Pentecost - 7 Sundays after Easter Sunday

• Epiphany - January 6 in many parts of the world; transferred to the first Sunday after January 1 in the United States

The other solemnities of the Church year are:

• Mary, Mother of God* - January 1

• St. Joseph - March 19

• Holy Thursday (Mass of the Lord's Supper) - 3 evenings before Easter Sunday

• Good Friday (Commemoration of the Lord's Passion) - 2 days before Easter Sunday

• Ascension of the Lord* - 40th day of the Easter season in many parts of the world; transferred to the 6th Sunday of Easter (43rd day) in most parts of the United States

• The Most Holy Trinity (Trinity Sunday) - 8 Sundays after Easter Sunday

• The Body and Blood of Christ - the Thursday after Trinity Sunday in many parts of the world; transferred to 9 Sundays after Easter Sunday in the United States

• The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary* - August 15

• All Saints* - November 1

• Christ, King of the Universe - 5 Sundays before Christmas Day

• The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary* - December 8

*These days are designated in the United States as holy days of obligation, in which Catholics in good health are obliged to attend Mass. The obligation is lifted for January 1, August 15, and November 1 when these fall on Saturdays or Mondays, because the vigil Masses would conflict with the Sunday schedule. Because the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is the patronal feast of the United States but does not take precedence over the 2nd Sunday of Advent, it is celebrated on December 9 whenever December 8 falls on a Sunday.

Feasts, the next in importance, are specific days that the Church gives special honor to certain events in the life of Jesus or Mary; commemorates major saints, including the evangelists, other apostles, and archangels; and marks historical events such as the Conversion of St. Paul and the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica.  Readings are specific to the Feast. A Feast pertaining to the Lord that falls on a Sunday in Ordinary Time replaces the Sunday liturgy. 

Memorials are the last category, and highest number, of special commemorations during the Church year.  These celebrations of a saint or saints are designated either as obligatory (as St. Elizabeth Ann Seton,
January 4) or optional (as St. Blaise, February 3) and are sometimes observed in specific dioceses or regions, or by religious communities. Only the memorials of those saints who are of universal significance are observed by the whole Church and marked in the general liturgical calendar. During Lent, all memorials of saints are commemorations, with limited celebration. A solemnity, feast, Sunday, Ash Wednesday, Holy Week, and an Easter Octave day take precedence over a memorial.