GNLY

Download as pdf or txt
Download as pdf or txt
You are on page 1of 16

GENERAL NORMS FOR THE LITURGICAL YEAR AND THE CALENDAR

APOSTOLIC LETTER
MOTU PROPRIO
APPROVAL OF THE GENERAL NORMS FOR THE LITURGICAL YEAR
AND THE NEW GENERAL ROMAN CALENDAR

POPE PAUL VI

Celebration of the paschal mystery is of supreme importance in Christian worship


and the cycle of days, weeks, and the whole year unfolds its meaning: this is the
teaching so clearly given us by the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council. Conse-
quently, as to both the plan of the Proper of Seasons and of Saints and the revision
of the Roman Calendar, it is essential that Christʼs paschal mystery receive greater
prominence in the reform of the liturgical year, for which the Council has given
the norms.1

I
With the passage of centuries, it must be admitted, the faithful have become
accustomed to so many special religious devotions that the principal mysteries of
the redemption have lost their proper place in their minds. This was due partly to
the increased number of vigils, feast days, and their octaves, partly to the gradual
overlapping of various seasons in the liturgical year.
But it is also clear to everyone that our predecessors Saint Pius X and John
XXIII, of blessed memory, laid down several rules aimed at restoring Sunday to
its original rank and its place of esteem in the mind of all as the “first feast day of
all.”2 They also restored the liturgical celebration of the season of Lent to its right-
ful place. It is true as well that our predecessor Pius XII decreed3 for the Western
Church restoration of the Easter Vigil at night, as the occasion for the people of God
to reaffirm their spiritual covenant with Christ the risen Lord during the celebration
of the sacraments of Christian initiation.
Faithful to the teaching of the Fathers and of the constant tradition of the
Catholic Church, it is clear that these popes rightly perceived the true nature of the
liturgical yearʼs cycle. It is not simply the commemoration of the historical events
by which Christ Jesus won our salvation through his death and a calling to mind of
the past that instructs and nurtures the faithful, even the simplest, who meditate on
it. They taught also that the celebration of the liturgical year “possesses a distinct
sacramental power and efficacy to strengthen Christian life.”4 This is also our own
mind and teaching.

1
See Vatican Council II, Constitution on the Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium, 4 December 1963 (hereafter,
SC), art. 102-111.
2
SC, art. 106.
3
See Congregation of Rites, Decree Dominicæ Resurrectionis, 9 February 1951: Acta Apostolicæ Sedis,
Commentarium officiale (Vatican City; hereafter, AAS) 43 (1951), pp. 128-129.
General Norms for the Liturgical Year and Calendar © 1982, ICEL. All rights reserved.
APOSTOLIC LETTER 1
Thus as we celebrate the “sacrament of the birth of Christ”5 and his appearance
in the world, it is right and proper for us to pray that “he, whose outward form is like
our own, may reshape us inwardly by his grace.”6 And that while we are celebrating
his passage from death to life, we ask God that those who are reborn with Christ may
“express in their lives the richness of the sacrament they have received in faith.”7 In
the words of the Second Vatican Council, “recalling thus the mysteries of redemp-
tion, the Church opens to the faithful the riches of the Lordʼs powers and merits, so
that these are in some way made present in every age in order that the faithful may
lay hold on them and be filled with saving grace.”8
The purpose of the reordering of the liturgical year and of the norms accom-
plishing its reform, therefore, is nothing other than this, that through faith, hope,
and charity the faithful may share more deeply in “the whole mystery of Christ” as
it unfolds throughout the year.9

II
We do not see as a conflict with this theme emphasising also the splendour of
feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary, “who is joined by an inseparable bond to the sav-
ing work of her Son,”10 and of memorials of the saints, which are rightly considered
as the birthdays of “the martyrs and victors who lead us.”11 Indeed “the feasts of the
saints proclaim the wonderful works of Christ in his servants and display to the faith-
ful fitting examples for their imitation.”12 Further, the Catholic Church has always
firmly and securely held that the feasts of the saints proclaim and renew Christʼs
paschal mystery.13
Undeniably, however, over the course of the centuries more feasts of the saints
were introduced than was necessary; therefore the Council properly pointed out:
“Lest the feasts of the saints take precedence over the feasts commemorating the very
mysteries of salvation, many of them should be left to be celebrated by a particular
Church or nation or religious family; those only should be extended to the universal
Church that commemorate saints of truly universal significance.”14

4
Congregation of Rites, General Decree Maxima redemptionis nostræ mysteria, 16 November 1955: AAS
47 (1955), pp. 839.
5
Leo the Great, Sermo XXVII in Nativitate Domini 7, 1: Patrologiæ cursus completus: Series latina, J.P.
Migne, editor, Paris, 1844-1855 (hereafter, PL) 54, 216.
6
See the Baptism of the Lord, opening prayer; see also Missale Romanum, editio typica, 1962, Epiphany,
collect.
7
See Monday of the octave of Easter, opening prayer; see also Missale Romanum, editio typica, 1962, Tuesday
of Easter Week, collect.
8
SC, art. 102.
9
See SC, art. 102.
10
SC, art. 103.
11
See Syriac Breviary (5th Century), B. Mariani, editor (Rome, 1956), p. 27.
12
SC, art. 111.
13
See SC, art. 104.
14
SC, art. 111.

2 THE LITURGICAL YEAR


To put these decrees of the Ecumenical Council into effect, the names of some
saints have been deleted from the General Calendar, and permission was granted to
restore the memorials and veneration of other saints in those areas with which they
have been traditionally associated. As a result, the removal of the names of certain
saints not known throughout the world from the Roman Calendar has allowed the
addition of the names of martyrs born in regions where the gospel spread later in his-
tory. In consequence, the single catalogue displays in equal dignity as representatives
of all peoples those who either shed their blood for Christ or were outstanding in
their heroic virtues.
For these reasons we regard the new General Calendar drawn up for use in the
Latin rite to be more in keeping with the spirituality and attitudes of the times and to
be a clearer reflection of the Churchʼs universality. In this last regard, the Calendar
carries the names of the noblest of men and women who place before all the people
of God striking examples of holiness and in a wide diversity of forms. The immense
spiritual value of this to the whole Christian people hardly needs mention.
Therefore after carefully considering before the Lord all these matters, with
our apostolic authority we approve the new General Roman Calendar drawn up by
the Consilium for the Implementation of the Constitution on the Liturgy and also the
general norms governing the arrangement of the liturgical year. The effective date
for them is 1 January 1970. In accord with the decrees that the Congregation of Rites
has prepared in conjunction with the Consilium, they will remain in force until the
publication of the duly reformed Roman Missal and Breviary.
We decree all we have established motu proprio in this Letter to be valid and
confirmed, notwithstanding, to the extent necessary, the constitutions and apostolic
ordinations issued by our predecessors, as well as other directives, even those worthy
of explicit mention and amendment.
Given at Saint Peterʼs in Rome, 14 February 1969, the sixth year of our pon-
tificate.

Paul VI, Pope

APOSTOLIC LETTER 3
4 THE LITURGICAL YEAR
GENERAL NORMS
FOR THE LITURGICAL YEAR
AND THE CALENDAR

CHAPTER ONE
THE LITURGICAL YEAR

1 Christʼs saving work is celebrated in sacred memory by the Church on fixed


days throughout the course of the year. Each week on the day called the Lordʼs
Day the Church commemorates the Lordʼs resurrection. Once a year at Easter the
Church honours the resurrection of the Lord and his blessed passion with the utmost
solemnity. In fact through the yearly cycle the Church unfolds the entire mystery
of Christ and keeps the anniversaries of the saints.
During the different seasons of the liturgical year, the Church, in accord with
traditional discipline, carries out the formation of the faithful by means of devotional
practices, both interior and exterior, instruction, prayer, and works of penance and
mercy.1
2 The principles given here may and must be applied to both the Roman Rite
and all others; but the practical rules are to be taken as pertaining solely to the Ro-
man Rite, except in matters that of their nature also affect the other rites.2

TITLE I: LITURGICAL DAYS

THE LITURGICAL DAY IN GENERAL


3 Each day is made holy through the liturgical celebrations of the people of
God, especially through the eucharistic sacrifice and the divine office.
The liturgical day runs from midnight to midnight, but the observance of
Sunday and solemnities begins with the evening of the preceding day.

SUNDAY
4 The Church celebrates the paschal mystery on the first day of each week,
known as the Lordʼs Day or Sunday. This follows a tradition handed down from the
apostles and having its origin from the day of Christʼs resurrection. Thus Sunday
must be ranked as the first feast day of all.3

1
See Vatican Council II, Constitution on the Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium, 4 December 1963 (hereafter,
SC), art. 102-105.
2
See SC, art. 3.
3
See SC, art. 106.

GENERAL NORMS FOR THE LITURGICAL YEAR 5


5 Because of its special importance, the Sunday celebration gives way only
to solemnities or feasts of the Lord. The Sundays of the seasons of Advent, Lent,
and Easter, however, take precedence over all solemnities and feasts of the Lord.
Solemnities occurring on these Sundays are transferred to the following Monday
except in the case of their occurrence on Passion Sunday (Palm Sunday) or on
Easter Sunday.
6 By its nature, Sunday excludes any other celebrationʼs being permanently
assigned to that day, with these exceptions:
1. Sunday within the octave of Christmas is the feast of the Holy Fam-
ily;
2. Sunday following 6 January is the feast of the Baptism of the Lord;
3. Sunday after Pentecost is the solemnity of the Holy Trinity;
4. the last Sunday in Ordinary Time is the solemnity of Christ the
King.
7 In those places where the solemnities of the Epiphany of the Lord, the As-
cension of the Lord, and the Body and Blood of Christ are not observed as holy
days of obligation, they are assigned to a Sunday, which is then considered their
proper day in the calendar. Thus:
1. the Epiphany of the Lord, to the Sunday falling between 2 January and
8 January;
2. the Ascension of the Lord, to the Seventh Sunday of Easter;
3. the Body and Blood of Christ, to the Sunday after Trinity Sunday.

SOLEMNITIES, FEASTS, AND MEMORIALS


8 As it celebrates the mystery of Christ in yearly cycle, the Church also ven-
erates with a particular love blessed Mary, the Mother of God, and sets before the
devotion of the faithful the memory of the martyrs and other saints.4
9 The saints of universal significance have celebrations obligatory throughout
the entire Church. Other saints either are listed in the calendar for optional cele-
bration or are left to the veneration of some particular Church, nation, or religious
family.5
10 According to their importance, celebrations are distinguished from each other
and named as follows: solemnities, feasts, memorials.
11 Solemnities are counted as the principal days in the calendar and their ob-
servance begins with Evening Prayer I of the preceding day. Some solemnities also
have their own vigil Mass for use when Mass is celebrated in the evening of the
preceding day.
12 The celebration of Easter and Christmas, the two greatest solemnities, con-
tinues for eight days, with each octave governed by its own rules.

See SC, art. 103-104.


4

See SC, art. 111.


5

6 THE LITURGICAL YEAR


13 Feasts are celebrated within the limits of the natural day and accordingly do
not have Evening Prayer I. Exceptions are feasts of the Lord that fall on a Sunday in
Ordinary Time and in the season of Christmas and that replace the Sunday office.
14 Memorials are either obligatory or optional. Their observance is integrated
into the celebration of the occurring weekday in accord with the norms set forth in
the General Instructions of the Roman Missal and the Liturgy of the Hours.
Obligatory memorials occurring on Lenten weekdays may only be celebrated
as optional memorials.
Should more than one optional memorial listed in the calendar fall on the same
day, only one may be celebrated; the others are omitted.
15 On Saturdays in Ordinary Time when there is no obligatory memorial, an
optional memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary is allowed.

WEEKDAYS
16 The days following Sunday are called weekdays. They are celebrated in dif-
ferent ways according to the importance each one has.
1. Ash Wednesday and the days of Holy Week, from Monday to Thursday
inclusive, have precedence over all other celebrations.
2. The weekdays of Advent from 17 December to 24 December inclusive
and all the weekdays of Lent have precedence over obligatory memorials.
3. Other weekdays give way to all solemnities and feasts and are combined
with memorials.

TITLE II: THE YEARLY CYCLE


17 By means of the yearly cycle the Church celebrates the whole mystery of
Christ, from his incarnation until the day of Pentecost and the expectation of the
Lordʼs coming again.6

THE EASTER TRIDUUM


18 Christ redeemed humankind and gave perfect glory to God principally through
his paschal mystery: dying he destroyed our death and rising he restored our life.
Therefore the Easter triduum of the passion and resurrection of the Lord is the cul-
mination of the entire liturgical year.7 Thus the solemnity of Easter has the same
kind of preeminence in the liturgical year that Sunday has in the week.8

6
See SC, art. 102.
7
See SC, art. 5.
8
See SC, art. 106.

GENERAL NORMS FOR THE LITURGICAL YEAR 7


19 The Easter triduum of the passion and resurrection of the Lord begins with
the Evening Mass of the Lordʼs Supper, reaches its high point in the Easter Vigil,
and closes with Evening Prayer on Easter Sunday, the Sunday of the Lordʼs resur-
rection.
20 On Good Friday9 and, if possible, also on Holy Saturday until the Easter
Vigil,10 the Easter fast is observed everywhere.
21 The Easter Vigil, during the holy night when the Lord rose from the dead,
ranks as the “mother of all holy vigils.”11 Keeping watch, the Church awaits Christʼs
resurrection and celebrates it in the sacraments. Accordingly, the entire celebration
of this vigil should take place at night, that is, it should either begin after nightfall
or end before the dawn of Sunday.

THE SEASON OF EASTER


22 The fifty days from Easter Sunday to Pentecost are celebrated in joyful exul-
tation as one feast day, or better as one “great Sunday.”12
These above all others are the days for the singing of the Alleluia.
23 The Sundays of this season rank as the Sundays of Easter and, after Easter
Sunday itself, are called the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Sun-
days of Easter. The period of fifty sacred days ends on Pentecost Sunday.
24 The first eight days of the season of Easter make up the octave of Easter and
are celebrated as solemnities of the Lord.
25 On the fortieth day after Easter the Ascension of the Lord is celebrated, except
in places where, not being a holy day of obligation, it has been transferred to the
Seventh Sunday of Easter (see no. 7).
26 The weekdays after the Ascension of the Lord until the Saturday before Pen-
tecost inclusive are a preparation for the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete.

THE SEASON OF LENT


27 Lent is a preparation for the celebration of Easter. For the Lenten liturgy
disposes both catechumens and the faithful to celebrate the paschal mystery: cat-
echumens, through the several stages of Christian initiation; the faithful, through
reminders of their own baptism and through penitential practices.13

9
See Paul VI, Apostolic Constitution Pænitemini, on Christian penance, 17 February 1966 (hereafter,
Pænitemini), II§3: Acta Apostolicæ Sedis, Commentarium officiale (Vatican City; hereafter, AAS) 58 (1966),
p. 184.
10
See SC, art. 110.
11
Augustine, Sermo 219: Patrologiæ cursus completus: Series latina, J.P. Migne, editor, Paris, 1844-1855
(hereafter, PL) 38, 1088.
12
Athanasius, Epis. fest. 1: Patrologiæ cursus completus: Series græca, J.P. Migne, editor, (Paris, 1857-1866)
26, 1366.
13
See SC, art. 109.

8 THE LITURGICAL YEAR


28 Lent runs from Ash Wednesday until the Mass of the Lordʼs Supper ex-
clusive.
The Alleluia is not used from the beginning of Lent until the Easter Vigil.
29 On Ash Wednesday, which is the beginning of Lent and is observed every-
where as a fast day,14 ashes are distributed.
30 The Sundays of this season are called the First, Second, Third, Fourth, and
Fifth Sundays of Lent. The Sixth Sunday, which marks the beginning of Holy Week,
is called Passion Sunday (Palm Sunday).
31 Holy Week has as its purpose the remembrance of Christʼs passion, beginning
with his Messianic entrance into Jerusalem.
At the Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday morning the bishop, concelebrating
Mass with his presbyterate, blesses the oils and consecrates the chrism.

THE SEASON OF CHRISTMAS


32 Next to the yearly celebrations of the paschal mystery, the Church considers
nothing more important than the memorial of Christʼs birth and early manifestations.
This is the purpose of the season of Christmas.
33 The season of Christmas runs from Evening Prayer I of Christmas until the
Sunday after Epiphany or after 6 January, inclusive.
34 The Mass of the vigil of Christmas is used in the evening of 24 December,
either before or after Evening Prayer I.
On Christmas itself, following an ancient tradition of Rome, three Masses
may be celebrated: namely, the Mass at Midnight, the Mass at Dawn, and the Mass
during the Day.
35 Christmas has its own octave, arranged as follows:
1. Sunday within the octave is the feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary,
and Joseph. If there is no Sunday, the feast is celebrated on 30 December;
2. 26 December is the feast of Saint Stephen, First Martyr;
3. 27 December is the feast of Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist;
4. 28 December is the feast of the Holy Innocents;
5. 29, 30, and 31 December are days within the octave;
6. 1 January, the octave day of Christmas, is the solemnity of Mary, Mother
of God. It also recalls the conferral of the holy Name of Jesus.
36 The Sunday falling between 2 January and 5 January is the Second Sunday
after Christmas.

See Pænitemini, II§3: AAS 58 (1966), p. 184.


14

GENERAL NORMS FOR THE LITURGICAL YEAR 9


37 The Epiphany of the Lord is celebrated on 6 January, unless (where it is not
observed as a holy day of obligation) it has been assigned to the Sunday occurring
between 2 January and 8 January (see no. 7).
38 The Sunday falling after 6 January is the feast of the Baptism of the Lord.15

THE SEASON OF ADVENT


39 Advent has a twofold character: as a time to prepare for the solemnity of
Christmas when the Son of Godʼs first coming to us is remembered; as a season
when that remembrance directs the mind and heart to await Christʼs Second Com-
ing at the end of time. For these two reasons, the season of Advent is thus a period
for devout and joyful expectation.
40 Advent begins with Evening Prayer I of the Sunday falling on or closest to
30 November and ends before Evening Prayer I of Christmas.
41 The Sundays of this season are named the First, Second, Third, and Fourth
Sundays of Advent.
42 The weekdays from 17 December to 24 December inclusive serve to prepare
more directly for the Lordʼs birth.

ORDINARY TIME
43 Apart from those seasons having their own distinctive character, thirty-three
or thirty-four weeks remain in the yearly cycle that do not celebrate a specific aspect
of the mystery of Christ. Rather, especially on the Sundays, they are devoted to the
mystery of Christ in its fullness. This period is known as Ordinary Time.
44 Ordinary Time begins on Monday after the Sunday following 6 January and
continues until Tuesday before Ash Wednesday inclusive. It begins again on Monday
after Pentecost and ends before Evening Prayer I of the First Sunday of Advent.
This is also the reason for the series of liturgical formularies found in both
the Missal and The Liturgy of the Hours (Vol. III-IV), for Sundays and weekdays
in this season.

15
In places where the solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord is transferred to Sunday and it falls on the
7th or 8th of January (coinciding with the normal day for celebrating the Baptism of the Lord), in those years,
the feast of the Baptism of the Lord is observed on the following Monday (Congregation for the Sacraments
and Divine Worship, Decree Celebratio Baptismatis Domini, on the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord, 7
October 1977).

10 THE LITURGICAL YEAR


ROGATION AND EMBER DAYS
45 On rogation and ember days the practice of the Church is to offer prayers to
the Lord for the needs of all people, especially for the productivity of the earth and
for human labour, and to make public thanksgiving.
46 In order to adapt the rogation and ember days to various regions and the dif-
ferent needs of the faithful, the conferences of bishops should arrange the time and
plan of their celebration.
Consequently, the competent authority should lay down norms, in view of
local conditions, on extending such celebrations over one or several days and on
repeating them during the year.
47 On each day of these celebrations the Mass should be one of the votive
Masses for various needs and occasions that is best suited to the intentions of the
petitioners.

GENERAL NORMS FOR THE LITURGICAL YEAR 11


CHAPTER TWO
THE CALENDAR

TITLE I: CALENDAR AND CELEBRATIONS TO BE ENTERED


48 The arrangement for celebrating the liturgical year is governed by the calendar:
the General Calendar, for use in the entire Roman Rite, or a particular calendar, for
use in a particular Church or in families of religious.
49 In the General Calendar the entire cycle of celebrations is entered: celebrations
of the mystery of salvation as found in the Proper of Seasons, of those saints having
universal significance who must therefore be celebrated by everyone or of saints
who show the universality and continuity of holiness within the people of God.
Particular calendars have more specialised celebrations, arranged to harmonise
with the general cycle.16 The individual Churches or families of religious should
show a special honour to those saints who are properly their own.
Particular calendars, drawn up by the competent authority, must be approved
by the Apostolic See.
50 The drawing up of a particular calendar is to be guided by the following
considerations:
1. The Proper of Seasons (that is, the cycle of seasons, solemnities, and
feasts that unfold and honour the mystery of redemption during the liturgical
year) must be kept intact and retain its rightful preeminence over particular
celebrations.
2. Proper celebrations must be coordinated harmoniously with universal
celebrations, with care for the rank and precedence indicated for each in the
Table of Liturgical Days. Lest particular calendars be enlarged dispropor-
tionately, individual saints may have only one celebration in the liturgical
year. For persuasive pastoral reasons there may be another celebration in the
form of an optional memorial marking the transfer or discovery of the bodies
of patrons or founders of Churches or of families of religious.
3. Celebrations granted by indult may not duplicate other celebrations
already contained in the cycle of the mystery of salvation, nor may they be
multiplied out of proportion.
51 Although it is reasonable for each diocese to have its own calendar and prop-
ers for the office and Mass, entire provinces, regions, nations, or even larger areas
may also have common calendars and propers, prepared with the cooperation of
all the parties involved.
For the same reason, this principle may also be followed in the case of the
calendars for several provinces of religious within the same civil territory.

16
See Congregation for Divine Worship, Instruction Calendaria particularia, on the revision of particular
calendars and of the propers for offices and Masses, 24 June 1970: AAS 62 (1970), pp. 651-663.

12 THE LITURGICAL YEAR


52 A particular calendar is prepared by inserting in the General Calendar solem-
nities, feasts, and memorials proper to that calendar:
1. in a diocesan calendar, besides celebrations of its patrons and the ded-
ication of the cathedral, the saints and the blessed who bear some special
connection with that diocese, for example, as their birthplace, residence over
a long period, or place of death;
2. in the calendar of religious, besides celebrations of their title, founder,
or patron, those saints and blessed who were members of that religious family
or had some special relationship with it;
3. in a calendar for individual churches, besides celebrations proper to
a diocese or religious community, those celebrations that are proper to that
church and are listed in the Table of Liturgical Days and also the saints who
are buried in that church. Members of religious communities should join
with the community of the local Church in celebrating the anniversary of the
dedication of the cathedral and the principal patrons of the place and of the
larger region where they live.
53 When a diocese or religious family has the distinction of having many saints
and blessed, care must be taken not to overload the calendar of the entire diocese
or institute. Consequently:
1. The first measure that can be taken is to have a common celebration
of all the saints and the blessed of a given diocese or religious family or of
some category.
2. Only the saints and blessed of particular significance for an entire di-
ocese or religious family may be entered in the calendar with an individual
celebration.
3. The other saints or blessed are to be celebrated only in those places
with which they have closer ties or where their bodies are buried.
54 Proper celebrations should be entered in the calendar as obligatory or op-
tional memorials, unless other provisions have been made for them in the Table of
Liturgical Days or there are special historical or pastoral reasons. But there is no
reason why some celebrations may not be observed with greater solemnity in some
places than in the rest of the diocese or religious community.
55 Celebrations entered in a particular calendar must be observed by all who
are bound to follow that calendar. Only with the approval of the Apostolic See may
celebrations be removed from a calendar or changed in rank.

TITLE II: THE PROPER DATE FOR CELEBRATIONS


56 The Churchʼs practice has been to celebrate the saints on the date of their
death (“birthday”), a practice it would be well to follow when entering proper cel-
ebrations in particular calendars.
Nevertheless, even though proper celebrations have special importance for
individual local Churches or religious families, it is of great advantage that there be
as much unity as possible in the observance of solemnities, feasts, and obligatory
memorials listed in the General Calendar.

GENERAL NORMS FOR THE LITURGICAL YEAR 13


In entering proper celebrations in a particular calendar, therefore, the following
are to be observed.
1. Celebrations listed in the General Calendar are to be entered on the
same date in a particular calendar, with a change in rank of celebration if
necessary.
This also applies to diocesan or religious calendars when celebrations proper
to an individual church alone are added.
2. Celebrations for saints not included in the General Calendar should
be assigned to the date of their death. If the date of death is not known, the
celebrations should be assigned to a date associated with the saint on some
other grounds, such as the date of ordination or of the discovery or transfer
of the saintʼs body; otherwise it is celebrated on a date unimpeded by other
celebrations in that particular calendar.
3. If the date of death or other appropriate date is impeded in the General
Calendar or in a particular calendar by another obligatory celebration, even
of lower rank, the celebrations should be assigned to the closest date not so
impeded.
4. If, however, it is a question of celebrations that cannot be transferred
to another date because of pastoral reasons, the impeding celebration should
itself be transferred.
5. Other celebrations, granted by indult, should be entered on a date more
pastorally appropriate.
6. The cycle of the liturgical year should stand out with its full preemi-
nence, but at the same time the celebration of the saints should not be per-
manently impeded. Therefore, dates that most of the time fall during Lent
and the octave of Easter, as well as the weekdays between 17 December and
31 December, should remain free of any particular celebration, unless it is a
question of optional memorials, feasts found in the Table of Liturgical Days
under no. 8: 1, 2, 3, 4, or solemnities that cannot be transferred to another
season.
The solemnity of Saint Joseph (19 March), except where it is observed
as a holy day of obligation, may be transferred by the conferences of bishops
to another day outside Lent.
57 If some saints or blessed are listed in the calendar on the same date, they are
always celebrated together whenever they are of equal rank, even though one or
more of them may be more proper to that calendar. If one or other of these saints
or blessed is to be celebrated with a higher rank, that office alone is observed and
the others are omitted, unless it is appropriate to assign them to another date in the
form of an obligatory memorial.
58 For the pastoral advantage of the faithful, it is permissible to observe on
the Sundays in Ordinary Time those celebrations that fall during the week and
have special appeal to the devotion of the faithful, provided the celebrations take
precedence over these Sundays in the Table of Liturgical Days. The Mass for such
celebrations may be used at all the Masses at which the people are present.
59 Precedence among liturgical days relative to their celebration is governed
solely by the following table.

14 THE LITURGICAL YEAR


TABLE OF LITURGICAL DAYS
(according to their order of precedence)

I
1. Easter triduum of the Lordʼs passion and resurrection.
2. Christmas, the Epiphany of the Lord, the Ascension of the Lord, and Pen-
tecost.
Sundays of the seasons of Advent, Lent, and Easter.
Ash Wednesday.
Weekdays of Holy Week from Monday to Thursday inclusive.
Days within the octave of Easter.
3. Solemnities of the Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and saints listed in the General
Calendar.
Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls).
4. Proper solemnities, namely:
1. Solemnity of the principal patron of the place, that is, the city or state.
2. Solemnity of the dedication of a particular church and the anniversary.
3. Solemnity of the title of a particular church.
4. Solemnity of the title, or of the founder, or of the principal patron of a
religious order or congregation.

II
5. Feasts of the Lord listed in the General Calendar.
6. Sundays of the season of Christmas and Sundays in Ordinary Time.
7. Feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of the saints in the General Calen-
dar.
8. Proper feasts, namely:
1. Feast of the principal patron of the diocese.
2. Feast of the anniversary of the dedication of the cathedral.
3. Feast of the principal patron of a region or province, or a country, or of a
wider territory.
4. Feast of the title, founder, or principal patron of an order or congregation
and of a religious province, without prejudice to the directives in no. 4.
5. Other feasts proper to an individual church.
6. Other feasts listed in the calendar of a diocese or of an order or congre-
gation.
9. Weekdays of Advent from 17 December to 24 December inclusive.
Days within the octave of Christmas.
Weekdays of Lent.

GENERAL NORMS FOR THE LITURGICAL YEAR 15


III
10. Obligatory memorials in the General Calendar.
11. Proper obligatory memorials, namely:
1. Memorial of a secondary patron of the place, diocese, region, or province,
nation or wider territory, or of an order or congregation and of a religious
province.
2. Other obligatory memorials listed in the calendar of a diocese, or of an
order or congregation.
12. Optional memorials; but these may be celebrated even on the days listed in no. 9,
in the special manner described by the General Instructions of the Roman Missal
and the Liturgy of the Hours.
In the same manner obligatory memorials may be celebrated as optional memo-
rials if they happen to fall on Lenten weekdays.
13. Weekdays of Advent up to 16 December inclusive.
Weekdays of the season of Christmas from 2 January until the Saturday after
the Epiphany of the Lord.
Weekdays of the season of Easter from Monday after the octave of Easter until
the Saturday before Pentecost inclusive.
Weekdays in Ordinary Time.
60 If several celebrations fall on the same day, the one that holds the highest rank
according to the preceding Table of Liturgical Days is observed. But a solemnity
impeded by a liturgical day that takes precedence over it should be transferred to
the closest day not listed on nos. 1-8 in the table of precedence; the rule of no. 5
remains in effect. Other celebrations are omitted that year.
61 If the same day were to call for celebration of Evening Prayer of that dayʼs
office and Evening Prayer I of the following day, Evening Prayer of the day with
the higher rank in the Table of Liturgical Days takes precedence; in cases of equal
rank, Evening Prayer of the actual day takes precedence.

16 THE LITURGICAL YEAR

You might also like