General Roman Calendar As In 1954

This article lists the feast days of the General Roman Calendar as they were at the end of 1954. It is essentially the same calendar established by Pope Pius X (1903–1914) following his liturgical reforms, but it also incorporates changes that were made by Pope Pius XI (1922–1939), such as the institution of the Feast of Christ the King (assigned to the last Sunday in October), and the changes made by Pope Pius XII (1939–1958) prior to 1955, chief among them the imposition of the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary upon the universal Church (August 22, on the existing octave day of the Assumption) in 1944, the inscription of Pius X into the General Calendar (September 3) following his 1954 canonization, and the institution of the Feast of the Queenship of Mary (May 31) in October 1954.

The changes that the latter Pope made in 1955 are indicated in General Roman Calendar of Pope Pius XII. They included: a revision of the Church's traditional ranking of liturgical days; the institution of the feast of St. Joseph the Worker on May 1 as a Double of the I Class, requiring the transfer of Ss. Philip and James to May 11; the suppression of the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, which for just over a century had been celebrated on the second Wednesday after the Octave of Easter. A total of fifteen Octaves—all those except Easter, Pentecost, and Christmas—were also suppressed in the reform of 1955, as were most vigils (specifically, the vigils of all apostles save for that of Ss. Peter and Paul, and the vigils of the Immaculate Conception, Epiphany, and All Saints).

Five years later, Pope John XXIII made a further revision with the ''motu proprio'' ''Rubricarum instructum'' of July 23, 1960. This revision, the General Roman Calendar of 1960, was incorporated in the Roman Missal of 1962, which was issued as implementation of this ''motu proprio'' The 1960 calendar is thus the calendar approved by Pope Benedict XVI with his July 7, 2007 document ''Summorum Pontificum'' for use as an extraordinary form of the Roman Rite.

The General Roman Calendar was again revised in 1969, in connection with the revision of the Roman Missal, and later. For its current state, see General Roman Calendar.

For most of the celebrations here listed, the Mass is found in the Roman Missal of the time in the section called the "Proper of the Saints", but for those occurring from 24 December to 13 January it is found in the "Proper of the Season", as these days do not move with respect to the seasons of the Church year. The Offices of these feasts are likewise arranged in the Breviary.

While the General Calendar of 1954 is generally not authorized for liturgical use by traditional groups in communion with the Holy See, some sedevacantists continue to use it, as well as Old Roman Catholics, as their members consider it to be the last calendar untainted by the revisions that began in 1955. Indults have been granted, however, to certain communities in full communion with Rome, such as some apostolates of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest and the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter.

Rank of feast days

The ranking of feast days that had grown from an original division between doubles and simplesCatholic Encyclopedia, s.v. ''Christian Calendar''
/ref> and that by the time of the Tridentine Calendar included semidoubles, with Pope Clement VIII adding in 1604 to the distinction between first and second class doubles the new rank of greater double, was in until 1955, when Pope Pius XII abolished the rank of semidouble.

The rank of feast days determines which Mass is said when two feast days occur on the one day, as well as when a feast day falls on Sundays or certain other privileged days. Feast days were classified as Simple, Semidouble, or Double, with feast days of the Double Rite further divided into ''Double of the I Class'', ''Double of the II Class'', ''Greater Double'' or ''Major Double'', and ''Double'', in order of descending rank. On ferias and many feast days of simple rank, the celebrant was permitted to substitute a Mass of his own choice such as a votive Mass, or a Mass for the Dead.

What the original meaning of the term "double" may have been is not entirely certain. Some think that the greater festivals were thus styled because the antiphons before and after the psalms were "doubled", i.e. twice repeated entire on these days. Others, with more probability, point to the fact that before the ninth century in certain places, for example at Rome, it was customary on the greater feast days to recite two sets of Matins, the one of the feria or week-day, the other of the festival. Hence such days were known as "doubles".

The Catholic Encyclopedia of the early years of the twentieth century shows the incremental crowding of the calendar (which had increased further by 1954) in the following table based on the official revisions of the Roman Breviary in 1568, 1602, 1631, 1882 and on the situation in 1907.

In 1907, when, in accordance with the rules in force since the time of Pope Pius V, feast days of any form of double, if impeded by falling on the same day with a feast day of higher class, were transferred to another day, this classification of feast days was of great practical importance for deciding which feast day to celebrate on any particular day. Pope Pius X simplified matters considerably in his 1911 reform of the Roman Breviary. In the case of occurrence the lower-ranking feast day could become a commemoration within the celebration of the higher-ranking one. Further retouches were made by Pope Pius XII in 1955, Pope John XXIII in 1960, and Pope Paul VI in 1969.

Sundays

Sundays were divided into greater and lesser Sundays, with the greater Sundays being further divided into two classes. The Greater Sundays of the I class were the I Sunday of Advent, the four Sundays of Lent, Passion Sunday, Palm Sunday, Easter Sunday, Low Sunday, and Pentecost. No feast day whatsoever could be celebrated on these days, although they admitted commemorations except on Easter and Pentecost. Greater Sundays of the II class permitted the celebration of Doubles of the I Class only, and consisted of the other three Sundays in Advent and the three pre-Lenten Sundays. All other Sundays (II to V after Easter and the Sundays after Epiphany and Pentecost, except for those that might occur during an Octave, which followed the rules for the Octave), were lesser Sundays or Sundays ''per annum'' ("through the year"), and only the celebration of Doubles of the I or II Class, or a feast of the Lord, took precedence over them. The Sunday within the Octave of the Nativity was a special case, due to the fixed date of Christmas and the high rank of the feast days following it. If December 29, 30, or 31 were a Sunday, the Mass assigned to it was celebrated on that day; otherwise, it was celebrated on December 30.

Before the reform of Pope Pius X in 1911, ordinary Doubles took precedence over most of the Semidouble Sundays, resulting in many of the Sunday Masses rarely being said. While retaining the Semidouble rite for Sundays, the reform permitted only the most important feast days, Doubles of the I or II class, to be celebrated on Sunday. When a feast of the rank of double of the I or II class fell on a Sunday, the Mass would be that of the feast, with a commemoration of the occurring Sunday; the Gospel of the omitted Sunday Mass would be read at the end of Mass instead of the usual Gospel "In principio erat Verbum" of St. John. When a feast of a rank lower than that occurred with a Sunday, the feast would be commemorated in the Sunday Mass by including a commemoration of the feast, and its Gospel would be read at the end of Mass, provided it was a "proper" Gospel, i.e. one not taken from the Common.

Following the reform of Pope Pius X, only three feasts were assigned to a Sunday: the feast days of the Holy Name, the Holy Family, and the Most Holy Trinity. A fourth, Christ the King, was added in 1925.

Ferias

Ferias also were classified into three categories:

* Greater privileged ferias: Ash Wednesday and Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of Holy Week. No feast day could be celebrated on these days.
* Greater non-privileged ferias: The ferias of Advent, Lent, and Passion Week, Rogation Monday, and the Ember Days. Any feast day except a Simple could occur on these days, with a commemoration of the feria.
* On all other ferias, any feast day of whatever rank could be celebrated without any commemoration of the feria.

Ember Days are four separate sets of three days within the same week — specifically, the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday — roughly equidistant in the circuit of the year, that were formerly set aside for fasting and prayer. These days set apart for special prayer and fasting were considered especially suitable for the ordination of clergy. The Ember Days are known in Latin as ''quatuor tempora'' (the "four seasons"), or ''jejunia quatuor temporum'' ("fasts of the four seasons"). They occur in the weeks between the third and fourth Sundays of Advent, between the first and second Sundays of Lent, between Pentecost and Trinity Sunday, and beginning the first Wednesday after the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (September 14), which is between the liturgical third and fourth Sundays of September.

Rogation Days are, in the calendar of the Western Church, four days traditionally set apart for solemn processions to invoke God's mercy. They are April 25, the Major Rogation (or Greater Litanies), coinciding with St. Mark's Day (but transferred to the following Tuesday if they fell on Easter); and the three days preceding Ascension Thursday, the Minor Rogations (or Lesser Litanies). These are indicated below in the main body of the calendar and in the Movable Feasts section.

Vigils

In the Tridentine Calendar the vigils of Christmas, the Epiphany, and Pentecost were called "major vigils"; the rest were "minor" or "common" vigilsCatholic Encyclopedia: Eve of a Feast
/ref> In early times, every feast day had a vigil, but the increase in the number of feast days and abuses connected with the evening and night service of which the vigils originally consisted, led to their diminishment. Nevertheless, the Roman Rite kept many more vigils than other Latin liturgical rites such as the Ambrosian Rite and the Mozarabic Rite. If a Vigil fell on a Sunday, it was transferred to the previous Saturday, although the Vigil of Christmas took precedence over the IV Sunday of Advent.

Prior to the suppression of some vigils by Pope Pius XII in 1955, there were three classes of Vigils. The Vigils of Christmas and Pentecost were of the I class, and took precedence over any feast day. The Vigil of Epiphany was of the II class, and permitted only Doubles of the I or II classes, or any feast of the Lord. All other vigils were "common" and took precedence only over ferias and Simple feast days, but were anticipated on Saturday if they fell on Sunday. Most feasts of the Apostles had Vigils; the exceptions being those that fell in Eastertide, when Vigils were not permitted. The Vigil of St. Matthias was unique, in that it was normally commemorated on February 23, the feast day of St. Peter Damian, but in leap year, was kept on February 24, the traditional leap day of the Roman calendar.

Octaves

The Tridentine Calendar had many octaves, without any indication in the calendar itself of distinction of rank between them, apart from the fact that the Octave Day (the final day of the octave) was ranked higher than the days within the octave. Several octaves overlapped, so that, for instance, on 29 December the prayer of the saint of the day, Saint Thomas Becket, was followed by the prayers of Christmas, of Saint Stephen, of Saint John the Evangelist and of the Holy Innocents. The situation remained such until the reform of Pope Pius X.

To cut down on the monotony of repeating the same prayers in Mass and Office every day for eight days, Pope Pius X classified the octaves as "privileged", "common" or "simple"

The privileged octaves were of three "ranks". The first rank belonged to the octaves of Easter and Pentecost (no feast day could be celebrated in these octaves or even, until Vespers on Tuesday, be commemorated), the second to those of Epiphany and Corpus Christi (the Octave Day ranked as a Greater Double, the days within the octave as Semidoubles, giving way only to Doubles of the I Class, and on the Octave day itself only to a Double of the I class that was celebrated in the entire Church), the third rank to those of Christmas, the Ascension, and the Sacred Heart (these gave way to any feast day above the level of Simple).

The common octaves were those of the Immaculate Conception, the Assumption, the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, Saints Peter and Paul, and All Saints, as well as, locally, the principal patron saint of a church, cathedral, order, town, diocese, province, or nation. These too gave way to any feast day above the level of Simple; the difference between these and the third privileged rank was that ferial psalms were said during common octaves, while the psalms from the feast day were used during privileged octaves.

The simple octaves were those of Saint Stephen, Saint John the Evangelist, the Holy Innocents, Saint Lawrence, the Nativity of Mary and, locally, secondary patrons. These were all Doubles of the II class, their Octave day was a Simple and, in contrast to the situation before Pope Pius X, their Mass was not repeated nor a Commemoration made, except on the Octave day, as simple Octaves had no days within the Octave.

In Pope Pius XII's reform, only the octaves of Christmas, Easter and Pentecost were kept. The days within the Easter and Pentecost octaves were raised to double rite, had precedence over all feast days, and did not admit commemorations.

January

*1: Circumcision of the Lord and Octave of the Nativity, Double of the II Class.
*2: Octave of St. Stephen Protomartyr, Simple.
*3: Octave of St. John Apostle and Evangelist, Simple.
*4: Octave of the Holy Innocents Martyrs, Simple.
*5: Vigil of the Epiphany, Semidouble, Com. of St. Telesphorus Pope and Martyr.
*6: Epiphany of the Lord, Double of the I Class with a privileged Octave of the II rank.
*7: Of the II day within the Octave of the Epiphany, Semidouble.
*8: Of the III day within the Octave of the Epiphany, Semidouble.
*9: Of the IV day within the Octave of the Epiphany, Semidouble.
*10: Of the V day within the Octave of the Epiphany, Semidouble.
*11: Of the VI day within the Octave of the Epiphany, Semidouble, Com. of St. Hyginus Pope and Martyr.
*12: Of the VII day within the Octave of the Epiphany, Semidouble.
*13: Octave of the Epiphany, Greater Double.
*14: St. Hilary Bishop, Confessor, and Doctor of the Church, Double, Com. of St. Felix Priest and Martyr.
*15: St. Paul first hermit, Confessor, Double, Com. of St. Maurus.
*16: St. Marcellus I Pope and Martyr, Semidouble.
*17: St. Anthony Abbot, Double.
*18: Chair of St. Peter Apostle at Rome, Greater Double, Com. of St. Paul Apostle, and of St. Prisca Virgin and Martyr.
*19: Ss. Marius, Martha, Audifax, and Abachum Martyrs, Simple, Com. of St. Canute, Martyr.
*20: Ss. Fabian Pope and Sebastian Martyrs, Double.
*21: St. Agnes, Roman Virgin and Martyr, Double
*22: Ss. Vincent and Anastasius Martyrs, Semidouble.
*23: St. Raymund of Peñafort Confessor, Semidouble, Com. of St. Emerentiana Virgin and Martyr.
*24: St. Timothy Bishop and Martyr, Double.
*25: Conversion of St. Paul Apostle, Greater Double, Com. of St. Peter.
*26: St. Polycarp Bishop and Martyr, Double.
*27: St. John Chrysostom Bishop, Confessor, and Doctor of the Church, Double.
*28: St. Peter Nolasco Confessor, Double, Com. of St. Agnes Virgin and Martyr second.
*29: St. Francis de Sales Bishop, Confessor, and Doctor of the Church, Double.
*30: St. Martina Virgin and Martyr, Semidouble.
*31: St. John Bosco Confessor, Double.

Sunday between the Circumcision and Epiphany r January 2, when no such Sunday occurs The most holy Name of Jesus, Double of the II Class.

Sunday within the Octave of the Epiphany: The Most Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Greater Double.

February

*1: St. Ignatius Bishop and Martyr, Double.
*2: Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Double of the II Class.
*3: St. Blase Bishop and Martyr, Simple.
*4: St. Andrew Corsini Bishop and Confessor, Double.
*5: St. Agatha Virgin Martyr, Double.
*6: St. Titus Bishop and Confessor, Double, Com. of St. Dorothy Virgin Martyr.
*7: St. Romuald Abbot, Double.
*8: St. John of Matha Confessor, Double.
*9: St. Cyril Bishop of Alexandria, Confessor, and Doctor of the Church, Double, Com. of St. Apollonia Virgin Martyr.
*10: St. Scholastica Virgin, Double.
*11: Apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary Immaculate, Greater Double.
*12: The Seven Holy Founders of the Order of Servants of the Blessed Virgin Mary Confessors, Double.
*13: Feria
*14: St. Valentine Priest and Martyr, Simple.
*15: Ss. Faustinus and Jovita Martyrs, Simple.
*16: Feria
*17: Feria
*18: St. Simeon Bishop and Martyr, Simple.
*19: Feria
*20: Feria
*21: Feria
*22: Chair of St. Peter at Antioch, Greater Double, Com. of St. Paul.
*23: St. Peter Damian Confessor, Double, Com. of the Vigil.
*24: St. Matthias Apostle, Double of the II Class.
*25: Feria
*26: Feria
*27: St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows, Double
*28: Feria

In leap year the month of February is of 29 days, and the Feast of St. Matthias is celebrated on the 25th day and the Feast of St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows on the 28th day of February, and twice is said Sexto Kalendas, that is on the 24th day and 25th day; and the dominical letter, which was taken up in the month of January, is changed to the preceding; that, if in January, the dominical letter was A, it is changed to the preceding, which is g, etc.; and the letter f is kept twice, on the 24th and 25th.

March

*1: Feria
*2: Feria
*3: Feria
*4: St. Casimir Confessor, Semidouble, Com. of St. Lucius I Pope and Martyr.
*5: Feria
*6: Ss. Perpetua and Felicity Martyrs, Double.
*7: St. Thomas Aquinas Confessor and Doctor of the Church, Double.
*8: St. John of God Confessor, Double.
*9: St. Frances of Rome Widow, Double.
*10: The Forty Holy Martyrs, Semidouble.
*11: Feria
*12: St. Gregory I Pope, Confessor, and Doctor of the Church, Double.
*13: Feria
*14: Feria
*15: Feria
*16: Feria
*17: St. Patrick Bishop and Confessor, Double.
*18: St. Cyril Bishop of Jerusalem, Confessor, and Doctor of the Church, Double.
*19: St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Confessor, and Patron of the Universal Church, Double of the I Class.
*20: Feria
*21: St. Benedict Abbot, Greater Double.
*22: Feria
*23: Feria
*24: St. Gabriel the Archangel, Greater Double.
*25: Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Double of the I Class.
*26: Feria
*27: St. John Damascene Confessor and Doctor of the Church, Double.
*28: St. John Capistran Confessor, Semidouble.
*29: Feria
*30: Feria
*31: Feria

Friday after Passion Sunday: Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Greater Double, Com. of the Feria.

April

*1: Feria
*2: St. Francis of Paula Confessor, Double.
*3: Feria
*4: St. Isidore Bishop, Confessor, and Doctor of the Church, Double.
*5: St. Vincent Ferrer Confessor, Double.
*6: Feria
*7: Feria
*8: Feria
*9: Feria
*10: Feria
*11: St. Leo I Pope, Confessor, and Doctor of the Church, Double.
*12: Feria
*13: St. Hermenegild Martyr, Semidouble.
*14: St. Justin Martyr, Double, Com. of Saints Tiburtius, Valerian and Maximus

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