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The Catholic Church follows the liturgical calendar, also called the church year, Christian year, or ecclesiastical calendar. This calendar is based on the cycle of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church and is used by many Protestant churches, including Lutheran, Anglican, and other traditions. The liturgical calendar is made up of liturgical days and seasons that determine when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are observed, and which portions of scripture are read. 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.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | General Roman Calendar (GRC) |
| Type of Calendar | Liturgical |
| Basis | Cycle of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church |
| Seasons | Advent, Christmas, Ordinary Time (Time after Epiphany), Lent, Easter, Ordinary Time (Time after Pentecost) |
| Liturgical Colours | Violet or purple (Lent), white (Christmas, Easter), red (Pentecost), green (Ordinary Time) |
| Fixed Celebrations | Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (January), Feast of Christ the King (November), Solemnity of Mary (Jan 1), Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen (Jan 2), The Most Holy Name of Jesus (Jan 3), Epiphany of the Lord (Jan 6), Saint Raymond of Penyafort (Jan 7), Saint Hilary (Jan 13) |
| Moveable Celebrations | Mysteries of Christ, Easter, Christmas |
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The General Roman Calendar
The liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church is known as the General Roman Calendar (GRC). It indicates the dates of celebrations of saints and mysteries of the Lord (Jesus Christ) in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. The liturgical year, also called the ecclesiastical calendar, consists of the cycle of liturgical days and seasons that determine when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be observed, and which portions of scripture are to be read.
The liturgical year combines two cycles of liturgical celebrations. The mysteries of Christ are often celebrated on dates that vary from year to year. The birth of a saint to heaven is usually celebrated on a fixed day of the year, but sometimes it may be moved to or from a Sunday. The General Roman Calendar mentions only a very limited selection of canonized saints. While canonization involves the addition of the saint's name to the Roman Martyrology, it does not necessarily involve the insertion of the saint's name into the General Roman Calendar.
The last general revision of the General Roman Calendar was in 1969 and was authorized by the motu proprio Mysterii Paschalis of Paul VI. The liturgical calendar for the dioceses of the United States of America is published annually by the Secretariat of Divine Worship of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The General Calendar is printed in the Roman Missal and the Liturgy of the Hours. These are up to date when printed, but additional feasts may be added later.
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Liturgical seasons
The Catholic liturgical year is made up of a seasonal cycle and a sanctoral cycle, which are organised and published in a liturgical calendar. The liturgical year is also referred to as the church year, ecclesiastical calendar or kalendar. The liturgical seasons are marked by different colours, and each has its own mood, theological emphases and modes of prayer.
The liturgical seasons of the Catholic Church include Advent, Christmas, Ordinary Time (Time after Epiphany), Lent, and Ordinary Time (Time after Pentecost). The liturgical year begins on the First Sunday of Advent during the preceding calendar year. For example, the First Sunday of Advent in 2019 began the 2020 liturgical year.
Advent is a time of watchful, joyful and hopeful preparation for the Coming of the Lord, both the "first coming" of Jesus (Christmas) and his "second coming" (Parousia). It begins four Sundays before Christmas and is marked by the liturgical colours purple and rose, with rose only being used on the third Sunday of Advent.
Christmas is a 12-day feast that begins on Christmas Day, or as a vigil on Christmas Eve. The liturgical colour of Christmas is white. The Christmas season includes the time from Epiphany until the Baptism of the Lord.
Ordinary Time (Time after Epiphany) is also known as "Ordered Time" or the "Season of the Year". It begins after the Christmas season and runs until Lent, which starts on Ash Wednesday. It is marked by the liturgical colour green.
Lent is a season of preparation for Easter, with a penitential and baptismal character. It begins with Ash Wednesday and lasts until Holy Saturday, the day before Easter Sunday. Lent is 40 days long, not including Sundays, which are days of rejoicing in the Resurrection. The liturgical colours of Lent are violet or purple.
The Easter season begins with the Easter Vigil on the evening before Easter Sunday. It is a 50-day celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, ending with Pentecost. The liturgical colours of Easter are white, for most days, and red for Pentecost.
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Liturgical colours
The Catholic liturgical calendar is called the General Roman Calendar (GRC). It indicates the dates of celebrations of saints and mysteries of the Lord (Jesus Christ) in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. The liturgical year consists of a seasonal cycle and a sanctoral cycle, called the Proper of Time and the Proper of Saints, respectively. The liturgical calendar combines these two cycles of liturgical celebrations.
Christmas is represented by white, or sometimes gold. This colour scheme lasts through Epiphany (January 6) or, in some traditions, through the Sunday thereafter (Baptism of the Lord Sunday). Following Epiphany is Ordinary Time, which is universally marked by green.
Red is typically worn during Holy Week, on Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Pentecost Sunday. This colour signifies God's love, blood, fire, and the celebration of martyrs. White is also worn by clergymen who perform funeral ceremonies.
The liturgical year ends with Christ the King Sunday, the last Sunday before Advent, for which white or gold is used.
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Feast days
The Catholic Church follows the liturgical calendar, also called the church year, Christian year, or ecclesiastical calendar. This calendar consists of a cycle of liturgical days and seasons that determine when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are observed, and which portions of scripture are read. The liturgical year combines two cycles of liturgical celebrations: the Proper of Time or Temporale, associated with the moveable date of Easter and the fixed date of Christmas; and the Proper of Saints or Sanctorale, associated with fixed calendar dates.
The General Roman Calendar (GRC) 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. These celebrations are on a fixed annual date or occur on a particular day of the week. For example, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord is in January, and the Feast of Christ the King is in November. Other dates are relative to the date of Easter, such as the celebrations of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
The liturgical year in the Eastern Orthodox Church is characterised by alternating fasts and feasts and is similar to the Catholic year. The Church New Year traditionally begins on September 1. The most important feast day is the Feast of Pascha (Easter), followed by the Twelve Great Feasts, which commemorate significant events in the lives of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary.
The Syro-Malabar Church and Chaldean Catholic Church also have distinct liturgical seasons. The liturgical year in these churches begins with the commemoration of the biblical events leading to the annunciation and birth of Jesus as the expected saviour in the Old Testament. This season, called the Weeks of Annunciation (Subara), begins on the Sunday before the first of December and ends with the Feast of Epiphany, which is the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus.
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Saints
The liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church is called the General Roman Calendar (GRC). It indicates the dates of celebrations of saints and mysteries of the Lord (Jesus Christ) in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. The liturgical year consists of a seasonal cycle and a sanctoral cycle, called the Proper of Time and the Proper of Saints, respectively. The Proper of Saints or Sanctorale is associated with fixed calendar dates. The birth of a saint is usually celebrated on a fixed day of the year, though sometimes it may be moved to or from a Sunday.
The General Roman Calendar mentions only a very limited selection of canonized saints. When a person is canonized, their name is added to the Roman Martyrology, but their name is not necessarily inserted into the General Roman Calendar. For example, Saint Christopher is recognized as a saint of the Catholic Church and is listed as a martyr in the Roman Martyrology, but his memorial is left to local calendars.
The liturgical year in the Catholic Church begins on the First Sunday of Advent during the preceding calendar year. The liturgical colours of Advent are purple and rose, with rose being used only on the third Sunday of Advent. The Christmas season begins with the celebration of the birth of Jesus on Christmas Day or as a vigil on Christmas Eve. The Feast of Christmas lasts 12 days, until Epiphany. The liturgical colour of Christmas is white. After the celebration of the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Ordinary Time begins. The liturgical colour of Ordinary Time is green, although other appropriate colours may be worn on particular feast days.
The Easter season begins with the Easter Vigil, which is celebrated after nightfall on the evening before Easter Sunday. The season of Easter is a joyous, celebratory season that begins with celebrating Christ's resurrection and ends by celebrating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers. The liturgical colours of Easter are white, for most days, and red for Pentecost. The second period of Ordinary Time is the longest liturgical season. It resumes after Pentecost and runs until the final Saturday before Advent.
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Frequently asked questions
The Catholic Church follows the General Roman Calendar (GRC), which is the liturgical calendar that indicates the dates of celebrations of saints and mysteries of the Lord (Jesus Christ).
The General Roman Calendar consists of a seasonal cycle and a sanctoral cycle, called the Proper of Time and the Proper of Saints, respectively. The Proper of Time is associated with the moveable date of Easter and the fixed date of Christmas, while the Proper of Saints is associated with fixed calendar dates.
The seasons in the Catholic liturgical calendar include Advent, Christmas, Ordinary Time (Time after Epiphany), Lent, Easter, and Ordinary Time (Time after Pentecost).
