Mysterii Paschalis
Encyclopedia
Mysterii Paschalis is the title of an apostolic letter motu proprio
(that is, "of his own accord") issued by Pope Paul VI
on February 14, 1969. It addressed the re-organization and update of the list of liturgical celebrations for Jesus Christ and the Saints found in the Catholic Church's Universal Roman Calendar.
As per its desgination, the document was a personal act of the Pope and, thus, had the force of law for the whole Latin Church
. The document had two purposes:
The actual revised calendar
had already been prepared by the so-called Consilium
, or "Council for the Proper Implementation of the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy."
Amongst the many notable features of the revised calendar
(e.g., suppressing the Tempus post Pentecosten), perhaps the most notable was the number of saint
s who had been removed from, added to, and moved around within the Catholic General Roman Calendar
. Some of the memorials that were removed from the General Roman Calendar have been added to various national or particular calendars.
The changes to the General Roman Calendar became effective on 1 January 1970.
Motu proprio
A motu proprio is a document issued by the Pope on his own initiative and personally signed by him....
(that is, "of his own accord") issued by Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI
Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...
on February 14, 1969. It addressed the re-organization and update of the list of liturgical celebrations for Jesus Christ and the Saints found in the Catholic Church's Universal Roman Calendar.
As per its desgination, the document was a personal act of the Pope and, thus, had the force of law for the whole Latin Church
Latin Church
The Latin Church is the largest particular church within the Catholic Church. It is a particular church not on the level of the local particular churches known as dioceses or eparchies, but on the level of autonomous ritual churches, of which there are 23, the remaining 22 of which are Eastern...
. The document had two purposes:
- (1) To explain the rationale behind the revision of the Church'sChurch'sChurch’s is a high-end English footwear manufacturer founded in 1873 by Thomas Church and his three sons.Over time, the little family business grew into a corporation currently employing nearly 700 people....
calendarCalendarA calendar is a system of organizing days for social, religious, commercial, or administrative purposes. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months, and years. The name given to each day is known as a date. Periods in a calendar are usually, though not...
;
- (2) To explicitly approve "by Our apostolic authority . . . the new Roman Universal Calendar . . . and likewise the general norms concerning the arrangement of the liturgical year."
The actual revised calendar
Calendar
A calendar is a system of organizing days for social, religious, commercial, or administrative purposes. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months, and years. The name given to each day is known as a date. Periods in a calendar are usually, though not...
had already been prepared by the so-called Consilium
Consilium
Consilium may refer to :*Consilium, the Council of the European Union*The Consilium de Emendanda Ecclesia, a 1536 report commissioned by Pope Paul III on the abuses in the Catholic Church...
, or "Council for the Proper Implementation of the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy."
Amongst the many notable features of the revised calendar
Calendar
A calendar is a system of organizing days for social, religious, commercial, or administrative purposes. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months, and years. The name given to each day is known as a date. Periods in a calendar are usually, though not...
(e.g., suppressing the Tempus post Pentecosten), perhaps the most notable was the number of saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
s who had been removed from, added to, and moved around within the Catholic General Roman Calendar
Roman Catholic calendar of saints
The General Roman Calendar indicates the days of the year to which are assigned the liturgical celebrations of saints and of the mysteries of the Lord that are to be observed wherever the Roman Rite is used...
. Some of the memorials that were removed from the General Roman Calendar have been added to various national or particular calendars.
The changes to the General Roman Calendar became effective on 1 January 1970.
January
- Telephorus, 5 January, added in 1602, now deleted.
- HyginusPope HyginusPope Saint Hyginus was bishop of Rome from about 136 or 138 to about 140 or 142. Tradition holds that during his papacy he determined the various prerogatives of the clergy and defined the grades of the ecclesiastical hierarchy...
, 11 January, added in 12th century, now deleted. - Felix, 14 January, moved to date of his death, 13 January.
- Paul, first hermitPaul of ThebesPaul of Thebes, commonly known as Saint Paul the First Hermit or St Paul the Anchorite is regarded as the first Christian hermit...
, 15 January, added in 12th century, now deleted. - MaurSaint MaurusSaint Maurus was the first disciple of St. Benedict of Nursia . He is mentioned in St. Gregory the Great's biography of the latter as the first oblate; offered to the monastery by his noble Roman parents as a young boy to be brought up in the monastic life. Four stories involving Maurus recounted...
, 15 January, added in 12th century, now deleted. - Marcellus, 16 January, now deleted.
- PriscaSaint PriscaSaint Prisca was a Roman young woman allegedly tortured and executed for her Christian faith. Her dates are unknown. She is revered as a saint and a martyr by the Roman Catholic Church...
, 18 January, now deleted. - Maris, Martha, Abachum and Audifax, 19 January, now deleted.
- Canute, 19 January, now deleted.
- Anastasius, 22 January, added in the 12th century, now deleted.
- Emerentiana, 23 January, added in 9th century, now deleted.
- Raymond of Penyafort, 23 January, moved to day after his death, 7 January
- Timothy, 24 January, moved to 26 January
- PolycarpPolycarpSaint Polycarp was a 2nd century Christian bishop of Smyrna. According to the Martyrdom of Polycarp, he died a martyr, bound and burned at the stake, then stabbed when the fire failed to touch him...
, 26 January, moved to date of his death, 23 February - John ChrysostomJohn ChrysostomJohn Chrysostom , Archbishop of Constantinople, was an important Early Church Father. He is known for his eloquence in preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, and his ascetic...
, 27 January, moved to day before his death, 13 September - Peter Nolasco, 28 January, added in 1664, now deleted.
- 2nd Feast of Agnes, 28 January, now deleted.
- Francis de SalesFrancis de SalesFrancis de Sales was Bishop of Geneva and is a Roman Catholic saint. He worked to convert Protestants back to Catholicism, and was an accomplished preacher...
, 29 January, moved to 24 January, day of his burial at Annecy in 1624. - MartinaMartina of RomeSaint Martina was a Roman martyr under emperor Alexander Severus. She is a patron saint of Rome.She was martyred in 226, according to some authorities, more probably in 228, under the pontificate of Pope Urban I, according to others...
, 30 January, added in 1635, now deleted.
February
- Ignatius, 1 February, moved to date of his death, 17 October
- Purification of Mary, 2 February, renamed Presentation of the Lord.
- Andrew Corsini, 4 February, added in 1666, now deleted.
- Titus, 6 February, joined with Timothy on 26 January.
- Dorothy, 6 February, added in 13th century, now deleted.
- Romuald, 7 February, moved to date of his death, 19 June.
- John of Matha, 8 February, added in 1679, now deleted.
- Cyril of Alexandria, 9 February, moved to date of his death, 27 June.
- Apollonia, 9 February, added in 13th century, now deleted.
- Apparition of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, 11 February, renamed Our Lady of Lourdes.
- Seven Founders of the Servite Order, 12 February, moved to date of death of one of them, 17 February.
- Valentine, 14 February, now deleted.
- Faustinus and Jovita, 15 February, added in 13th century, now deleted.
- Simeon, 18 February, added in 12th century, now deleted.
- Peter Damian, 23 February, moved to 21 February.
- Matthias, 24 February, moved to 14 May.
- Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin, 27 February, added in 1932, now deleted.
March
- Lucius I, 4 March, added in 1602, now deleted.
- Perpetua and Felicity, 6 March, moved to date of their death, 7 March.
- Thomas Aquinas, 7 March, often falls in Lent, therefore moved to 28 January.
- Forty Martyrs, 10 March, added in 12 century, now deleted.
- Gregory the Great, 12 March, always falls in Lent, therefore moved to 3 September.
- Benedict, 21 March, always falls in Lent, therefore moved to 11 July.
- Gabriel, 24 March, added in 1921, now joined to Michael and Raphael on 29 September.
- Annunciation of Mary, 25 March, renamed Annunciation of the Lord.
- John Damascene, 27 March, moved to date of his death, 4 December.
- John of Capistrano, 28 March, moved to date of his death, 23 October.
April
- Leo I, 11 April, moved to date of his death, 11 November.
- Hermenegild, 13 April, added in 1632, now deleted.
- Justin, 14 April, moved to 1 June, the date used in the Byzantine rite.
- Tiburtius, Valerian, and Maximus, 14 April, now deleted.
- Anicetus, 17 April, added in 12th century, now deleted.
- Soter and Caius, 22 April, added in 13th century, now deleted.
- The Greater Litany, 23 April, now deleted.
- Cletus and Marcellinus, 26 April, added in 13th century, now deleted.
- Peter Canisius, 27 April, moved to date of his death, 21 December.
- Paul of the Cross, 28 April, moved to date of his death, 19 October.
- Peter of Verona, 29 April, added in 1586, now deleted.
- Catherine of Siena, 30 April, moved to date of her death, 29 April.
See also
- General Roman Calendar of 1954
- General Roman Calendar of Pope Pius XIIGeneral Roman Calendar of Pope Pius XIIIn 1955 Pope Pius XII made several changes to the General Roman Calendar of 1954, changes that remained in force only until 1960, when Pope John XXIII, on the basis of further recommendations of the commission that Pius XII had set up, decreed a further revision of the Roman Catholic calendar of...
- General Roman Calendar of 1962General Roman Calendar of 1962This article lists the feast days of the General Roman Calendar as it was in 1962, following the reforms that Pope John XXIII introduced with his motu proprio Rubricarum instructum of 23 July 1960...
- Roman Catholic calendar of saintsRoman Catholic calendar of saintsThe General Roman Calendar indicates the days of the year to which are assigned the liturgical celebrations of saints and of the mysteries of the Lord that are to be observed wherever the Roman Rite is used...