The General Roman Calendar (GRC) is the liturgical calendar in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. It indicates the dates of celebrations of saints and mysteries of Jesus according to Christianity wherever this liturgical rite is in use. Some celebrations are a fixed annual date, or occur on a particular day of the week, for example the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord in January and the Feast of Christ the King in November. Other dates relate to the date of Easter, such as the celebrations of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Description National and diocesan calendars, including that of the Diocese of Rome itself as well as the calendars of religious institutes and even of continents, add other saints and mysteries or transfer the celebration of a particular saint or mystery from the date assigned in the General Calendar to another date.

These liturgical calendars indicate the degree or rank of each celebration: memorial (which can be optional), feast, or solemnity. Among other differences, the Gloria is said or sung at the Mass of a feast but not at that of a memorial. The Nicene Creed is added on solemnities.

The last general revision of the General Roman Calendar was in 1969 and was authorized by the of Pope Paul VI, . The and the decree of promulgation were included in the book , published in the same year by . This contained the official document Universal Norms on the Liturgical Year and the Calendar, and the list of celebrations of the General Roman Calendar. Both these documents are printed, in their present revised form, in the Roman Missal, after the General Instruction of the Roman Missal.The Roman Missal (Liturgy Training Publications )

Selection of saints included Saints included in General Roman Calendar are a selection of canonized saints. All canonized saints' names are added to the Roman Martyrology.

There is a common misconception that for certain saints (e.g., Christopher), veneration was "suppressed" as part of changes by the Second Vatican Council. In fact, those saints remain recognized, being listed as martyrs in the Roman MartyrologyMartyrologium Romanum (Typis Vaticanis, 2001 ) or celebrated in regional calendars. In 1969, in , Pope Paul VI wrote, with reference to Saint Christopher, that the Acts of Saint Christopher are legendary, despite attestations to the veneration of the martyr dating from ancient times. His changes to the calendar of saints included "leaving the memorial of Saint Christopher to local calendars", because of the relatively late date of its addition to what was then the Tridentine calendar."Memoria S. Christophori, anno circiter 1550 in Calendario romano ascripta, Calendariis particularibus relinquitur: quamvis Acta S. Christophori fabulosa sint, antiqua inveniuntur monumenta eius venerationis; attamen cultus huius Sancti non pertinet ad traditionem romanam" – Calendarium Romanum (Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis 1969), p. 131.

Liturgical year In the liturgical books, the document General Roman Calendar, which lists fixed celebrations and some moveable ones, is printed immediately after the document Universal Norms on the Liturgical Year and the Calendar, which states that "throughout the course of the year the Church unfolds the entire mystery of Christ and observes the birthdays of the Saints". Certain mysteries of Christ are celebrated on dates that vary from year to year.

The Catholic Church's year combines two cycles of liturgical celebrations. One is called the Proper of Time or , associated with the moveable date of Easter and the fixed date of Christmas. The other is associated with fixed calendar dates and is called the Proper of Saints or . The General Roman Calendar includes celebrations that belong to the Proper of Time or as well as Proper of Saints or . An instance where two observances occur on the same date is called an occurrence.

Transfer of celebrations Some celebrations listed in the General Roman Calendar are transferred to another date:

List of celebrations inscribed in the GRC

This list contains all celebrations currently inscribed in the General Roman Calendar. It is updated whenever the pope makes changes to the celebrations in the General Roman Calendar.

When no citation is provided for a particular celebration, it comes from Calendarium Romanum Generale (General Roman Calendar) as printed in the Latin original of Roman Missal, ed. typ. tertia (reimpressio emendata), released in 2008. Celebrations that are added or changed are cited from official decrees.

Celebration names are used from English Roman Missal (2018).

January

1 January: Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God – solemnity 2 January: Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church – memorial 3 January: The Most Holy Name of Jesus – optional memorial 6 January: The Epiphany of the Lord – solemnity 7 January: Saint Raymond of Penyafort, Priest – optional memorial 13 January: Saint Hilary, Bishop and Doctor of the Church – optional memorial 17 January: Saint Anthony, Abbot – memorial 20 January: Saint Fabian, Pope and Martyr – optional memorial 20 January: Saint Sebastian, Martyr – optional memorial 21 January: Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr – memorial 22 January: Saint Vincent, Deacon and Martyr – optional memorial 24 January: Saint Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church – memorial 25 January: The Conversion of Saint Paul the Apostle – feast 26 January: Saints Timothy and Titus, Bishops – memorial 27 January: Saint Angela Merici, Virgin – optional memorial 28 January: Saint Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church – memorial 31 January: Saint John Bosco, Priest – memorial Sunday after 6 January: The Baptism of the Lord – feast

The solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord is always celebrated on 6 January in the General Roman Calendar, however, in particular calendars, it might be transferred to Sunday before, on or after 6 January. When the solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord is transferred to Sunday, which occurs on 7 or 8 January, the feast of the Baptism of the Lord is celebrated on the following Monday. (Ubi sollemnitas Epiphaniæ ad dominicam transfertur, quæ die 7 vel 8 ianuarii occurrit, festum Baptismatis Domini celebratur feria secunda sequenti.)

February

2 February: The Presentation of the Lord – feast 3 February: Saint Blaise, Bishop and Martyr – optional memorial 3 February: Saint Ansgar, Bishop – optional memorial 5 February: Saint Agatha, Virgin and Martyr – memorial 6 February: Saints Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs – memorial 8 February: Saint Jerome Emiliani, Priest – optional memorial 8 February: Saint Josephine Bakhita, Virgin – optional memorial 10 February: Saint Scholastica, Virgin – memorial 11 February: Our Lady of Lourdes – optional memorial 14 February: Saints Cyril, Monk, and Methodius, Bishop – memorial 17 February: The Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order – optional memorial 21 February: Saint Peter Damian, Bishop and Doctor of the Church – optional memorial 22 February: The Chair of Saint Peter the Apostle – feast 23 February: Saint Polycarp, Bishop and Martyr – memorial 27 February: Saint Gregory of Narek, Abbot and Doctor of the Church – optional memorial

On 25 January 2021, Pope Francis inscribed Saint Gregory of Narek, Abbot and Doctor of the Church, in the General Roman Calendar.

March

4 March: Saint Casimir – optional memorial 7 March: Saints Perpetua and Felicity, Martyrs – memorial 8 March: Saint John of God, Religious – optional memorial 9 March: Saint Frances of Rome, Religious – optional memorial 17 March: Saint Patrick, Bishop – optional memorial 18 March: Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop and Doctor of the Church – optional memorial 19 March: Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary – solemnity 23 March: Saint Turibius of Mongrovejo, Bishop – optional memorial 25 March: The Annunciation of the Lord – solemnity

April

2 April: Saint Francis of Paola, Hermit – optional memorial 4 April: Saint Isidore, Bishop and Doctor of the Church – optional memorial 5 April: Saint Vincent Ferrer, Priest – optional memorial 7 April: Saint John Baptist de la Salle, Priest – memorial 11 April: Saint Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr – memorial 13 April: Saint Martin I, Pope and Martyr – optional memorial 21 April: Saint Anselm, Bishop and Doctor of the Church – optional memorial 23 April: Saint George, Martyr – optional memorial 23 April: Saint Adalbert, Bishop and Martyr – optional memorial 24 April: Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen, Priest and Martyr – optional memorial 25 April: Saint Mark, Evangelist – feast 28 April: Saint Peter Chanel, Priest and Martyr – optional memorial 28 April: Saint Louis Grignon de Montfort, Priest – optional memorial 29 April: Saint Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church – memorial 30 April: Saint Pius V, Pope – optional memorial

May

1 May: Saint Joseph the Worker – optional memorial 2 May: Saint Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church – memorial 3 May: Saints Philip and James, Apostles – feast 10 May: Saint John of Ávila, Priest and Doctor of the Church – optional memorial 12 May: Saints Nereus and Achilleus, Martyrs – optional memorial 12 May: Saint Pancras, Martyr – optional memorial 13 May: Our Lady of Fatima – optional memorial 14 May: Saint Matthias, Apostle – feast 18 May: Saint John I, Pope and Martyr – optional memorial 20 May: Saint Bernardine of Siena, Priest – optional memorial 21 May: Saint Christopher Magallanes, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs – optional memorial 22 May: Saint Rita of Cascia, Religious – optional memorial 25 May: Saint Bede the Venerable, Priest and Doctor of the Church – optional memorial 25 May: Saint Gregory VII, Pope – optional memorial 25 May: Saint Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, Virgin – optional memorial 26 May: Saint Philip Neri, Priest – memorial 27 May: Saint Augustine of Canterbury, Bishop – optional memorial 29 May: Saint Paul VI, Pope – optional memorial 31 May: The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary – feast Monday after Pentecost: Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church – memorial First Sunday after Pentecost: The Most Holy Trinity – solemnity Thursday after Holy Trinity: The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ – solemnity

On 25 January 2021, Pope Francis inscribed Saint John of Avila, Priest and Doctor of the Church, in the General Roman Calendar. On 25 January 2019, Pope Francis inscribed Saint Paul VI, Pope, in the General Roman Calendar. On 11 February 2018, Pope Francis inscribed Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, in the General Roman Calendar. In years when the memorial of the Mother of the Church coincides with another obligatory memorial, only the memorial of the Mother of the Church will be celebrated for that year. The solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ can be transferred to the following Sunday in particular calendars.

June

1 June: Saint Justin, Martyr – memorial 2 June: Saints Marcellinus and Peter, Martyrs – optional memorial 3 June: Saints Charles Lwanga and Companions, Martyrs – memorial 5 June: Saint Boniface, Bishop and Martyr – memorial 6 June: Saint Norbert, Bishop – optional memorial 9 June: Saint Ephrem, Deacon and Doctor of the Church – optional memorial 11 June: Saint Barnabas, Apostle – memorial 13 June: Saint Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church – memorial 19 June: Saint Romuald, Abbot – optional memorial 21 June: Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious – memorial 22 June: Saint Paulinus of Nola, Bishop – optional memorial 22 June: Saints John Fisher, Bishop, and Thomas More, Martyrs – optional memorial 24 June: The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist – solemnity 27 June: Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Bishop and Doctor of the Church – optional memorial 28 June: Saint Irenaeus, Bishop, Martyr and Doctor of the Church – memorial