The temporale ( or ) is one of the two main cycles that, running concurrently, comprise the Liturgical year in Roman Catholicism, defined by the

General Roman Calendar The General Roman Calendar is the liturgical calendar that indicates the dates of celebrations of saints and mysteries of the Lord (Jesus Christ) in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, wherever this liturgical rite is in use. These cele ...

. (The other cycle is the ''

sanctorale The sanctorale (English pronunciation /saŋktəˈreɪli/, /saŋktəˈrɑːleɪ/) is one of the two main cycles that, running concurrently, comprise the Liturgical year in Roman Catholicism, defined by the General Roman Calendar, and used by a var ...

''.) The term comes into English from medieval Latin ''temporāle'' (from ''tempus'' 'time').

The ''temporale'' consists of the movable feasts, most of them keyed to
Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
(which falls on a different Sunday every year), including Ascension, Pentecost (Whitsun), and so on. The ''sanctorale'' consists of the fixed feasts, celebrated on the very same date each year (no matter what the day of the week), including Christmas and all the saints' days.

The ''temporale'' is also known as the proper of time, with ''proper'' a noun in the sense 'that part of the

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

or liturgical offices which is varied according to the calendar or the particular occasion; an office or part of an office, as a psalm, lesson, etc., or portion of the Eucharist, appointed for a particular occasion or season'. Because the events of ''sanctorale'' and the ''temporale'' do not occur in the same order every year, the two cycles are often written separately in liturgical books, specifically that section of the Missal known as the Breviary.Michael Lapidge, 'The Saintly Life in Anglo-Saxon England', in ''The Cambridge Companion to Old English Literature'', ed. by Malcolm Godden and Michael Lapidge, 2nd edn (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013), pp. 251-72 (p. 264). Prominent events in the ''temporale'' are: ''

Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...

'' (including Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord, and

Holy Week Holy Week ( la, Hebdomada Sancta or , ; grc, Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς, translit=Hagia kai Megale Hebdomas, lit=Holy and Great Week) is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. In Eastern Churches, w ...

); the

Paschal Triduum The Paschal Triduum or Easter Triduum (Latin: ''Triduum Paschale''), Holy Triduum (Latin: ''Triduum Sacrum''), or the Three Days, is the period of three days that begins with the liturgy on the evening of Maundy Thursday, reaches its high poin ...

(including Good Friday,

Holy Saturday Holy Saturday ( la, Sabbatum Sanctum), also known as Great and Holy Saturday (also Holy and Great Saturday), the Great Sabbath, Hallelujah Saturday (in Portugal and Brazil), Saturday of the Glory, Sabado de Gloria, and Black Saturday or Easter ...

, the

Easter Vigil Easter Vigil, also called the Paschal Vigil or the Great Vigil of Easter, is a liturgy held in traditional Christian churches as the first official celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus. Historically, it is during this liturgy that people are ...

and

Easter Sunday Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the ''Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel P ...

); and '' Easter Time'' (the fifty days from Easter Sunday to

Pentecost Sunday Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of ...

References

{{reflist Religious rituals Catholic liturgy Christian terminology Catholic liturgical books