General Roman Calendar of 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 following his liturgical reforms, but it also incorporates changes that were made by Pope Pius XI, such as the institution of the Feast of Christ the King, and the changes made by Pope Pius XII prior to 1955, chief among them the imposition of the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary upon the universal Church in 1944, the inscription of Pius X into the General Calendar following his 1954 canonization, and the institution of the Feast of the Queenship of Mary 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.
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 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 simples 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 in the following table based on the official revisions of the Roman Breviary in 1568, 1602, 1631, 1882 and on the situation in 1907.
PopeDateDoubles, I ClassDoubles, II ClassGreater DoublesDoublesSemidoublesTotal
Pius V1568191705360149
Clement VIII16021918164368164
Urban VIII16311918164578176
Leo XIII188221182412874275
-190723272513372280

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, were lesser Sundays or Sundays per annum, 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:
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, or jejunia quatuor temporum. 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, 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, coinciding with St. Mark's Day ; and the three days preceding Ascension Thursday, the Minor Rogations. 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" vigils 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 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, the second to those of Epiphany and Corpus Christi, the third rank to those of Christmas, the Ascension, and the Sacred Heart.
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

Sunday between the Circumcision and Epiphany : 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

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

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

April

Wednesday within the second week after the Octave of Easter: Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Confessor, and Patron of the Universal Church, Double of the I Class with a common Octave

May

Last Sunday in October: The Feast of our Lord Jesus Christ the King, Double of the I Class, Com. of the Sunday.

November

Although not listed on the general Calendar, a commemoration of St. Anastasia Martyr is made at the second Mass on Christmas Day.

Moveable feasts

The moveable feasts are those connected with the Easter cycle, and Easter is the date relative to which their position is ultimately determined. The date of Easter is determined relative to the lunar calendar as used by the Hebrews. The rule has since the Middle Ages been phrased as "Easter is observed on the Sunday after the first full moon on or after the day of the vernal equinox." However, this does not reflect the actual ecclesiastical rules precisely. One reason for this is that the full moon involved is not an astronomical full moon, but an ecclesiastical moon. Another difference is that the astronomical vernal equinox is a natural astronomical phenomenon, which can fall on 20 or 21 March, while the ecclesiastical vernal equinox is a fixed March 21. Easter is determined from tables which determine Easter based on the ecclesiastical rules described above, which do not always coincide with the astronomical full moon. The moveable feasts are given below:
Septuagesima Sunday
Sexagesima Sunday
Quinquagesima Sunday
Ash Wednesday
Passion Sunday
Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Mary
Palm Sunday
Holy Thursday
Good Friday
Holy Saturday
Easter Sunday, the Solemnity of Solemnities, the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Low Sunday
The Solemnity of St. Joseph, spouse of the Virgin Mary, confessor, and patron of the Universal Church
The Octave of St. Joseph, spouse of the Virgin Mary, confessor and patron of the Universal Church
The Lesser Litanies at St. Mary Major
The Lesser Litanies at St. John Lateran
The Vigil of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Lesser Litanies at St. Peter's
The Ascension
The Octave of the Ascension
The Vigil of Pentecost
Pentecost
Holy Trinity and the Octave of Pentecost
Corpus Christi
Octave of Corpus Christi
Sacred Heart of Jesus
Octave of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
The 1954 calendar assigned special celebrations also to the days within these Octaves, as to the days within the Octaves of fixed feasts.

Feasts celebrated in some places (''pro Aliquibus Locis'')

The pre-1962 Roman Missal also listed a number of celebrations in the section headed "Mass for Some Places". These celebrations were:
The Holy House of Loreto
The Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Betrothal of the Virgin Mary with Saint Joseph
Saint Ildephonsus
The Flight into Egypt
Saint Margaret of Cortona
The Prayer of Christ
Commemoration of the Passion of Christ
The Sacred Crown of Thorns
The Sacred Lance and Nails
The Holy Shroud
The Five Holy Wounds
The Precious Blood
Saint Catherine of Genoa
Saint Benedict Joseph Labre
Our Lady of Good Counsel
Saint Isidore the Farmer
Saint John Nepomucene
Saint Rita of Cascia
Saint John Baptist de Rossi
Our Lady Help of Christians
Saint Ferdinand III
Saint Joan of Arc
Our Lady Queen of All Saints and Mother of Fair Love
Our Lady Mediatrix of All Graces
Our Lady Queen of the Apostles
The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus
The Immaculate Heart of Mary
Our Lady Mother of Grace
Saint John Francis Regis
Our Lady of Prompt Succor
All Holy Popes
Saint Lawrence of Brindisi
Saint Veronica Giuliani
Humility of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Our Lady Mother of Mercy
Saint Emygdius
Saint Philomena
Our Lady Refuge of Sinners
Saint John Berchmans
Saint Roch
Empress Helena
Our Lady of Consolation
Our Lady Help of the Sick
Saint Rose of Viterbo
Saint Peter Claver
Saint Gregory the Illuminator
Purity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Feast of the Holy Redeemer
The Sacred Relics
Saint Stanislaus Kostka
Our Lady Mother of Divine Providence
St. Leonard of Port Maurice
Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal