Solemnity
Encyclopedia
A Solemnity of the Roman Catholic Church
is a principal holy day in the liturgical calendar, usually commemorating an event in the life of Jesus
, his mother Mary, or other important saint
s. The observance begins with the vigil on the evening before the actual date of the feast. Unlike traditional feast days, because of their importance, solemnities replace Sunday
in importance and the solemnity is celebrated if it falls on a Sunday (for most).
The word is taken from the Latin sollemnitas, a term of uncertain origin but possibly derived from sollus (whole) and annus (year), indicating a Holy day of obligation occurring at yearly intervals. The Church always celebrates each solemnity every year.
s, which is explicitly dealt with in the article
. Note that holy days of obligation, when transferred to a Sunday, are of course technically still of obligation, on the Sunday to wit; the expression used in the "notes about date" box is meant to put the things in short terms.
. For instance, when a parish or other church celebrates the feast or memorial of its titular saint
or when it celebrates the anniversary of its dedication
, it is treated as a solemnity. The feast of Saint Patrick
on 17 March is a solemnity in Ireland, the feast of Saint Josemaría Escrivá on 26 June is a solemnity within the prelature of Opus Dei
, and the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
on 16 July is a solemnity for the Carmelites
.
Some solemnities are also Holy Days of Obligation, on which Catholics are required to attend Mass
; some are not. Moreover, the canon law
of the Catholic Church requires that on Holy Days of Obligation Catholics are to avoid "work" and "affairs" that "hinder the worship to be rendered to God" or interfere with "suitable relaxation of mind and body" just as is required on Sundays. The Worldwide Church knows of no holidays of obligation below the rank of solemnity, though there are some observed in Germany.
Solemnities of the Lord (Epiphany, Annunciation, Ascension, Corpus Christi, Trinity, Christ the King, Nativity), Solemnities of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Mother of God, Assumption, Immaculate Conception), Solemnities of Saints Listed in the General Calendar (Joseph, Nativity of John the Baptist, Peter and Paul, All Saints), All Souls Day, and proper solemnities can impede other Sundays throughout the year.
For all intents and purposes, this means that a solemnity always can impede a Sunday in Ordinary Time
.
is recited at Mass, and there are two scriptural readings
and a responsorial psalm before the Gospel
. When a solemnity falls on a Friday, the obligation to abstain from meat
is lifted.
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
is a principal holy day in the liturgical calendar, usually commemorating an event in the life of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
, his mother Mary, or other important 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. The observance begins with the vigil on the evening before the actual date of the feast. Unlike traditional feast days, because of their importance, solemnities replace Sunday
Sunday
Sunday is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. For most Christians, Sunday is observed as a day for worship of God and rest, due to the belief that it is Lord's Day, the day of Christ's resurrection....
in importance and the solemnity is celebrated if it falls on a Sunday (for most).
The word is taken from the Latin sollemnitas, a term of uncertain origin but possibly derived from sollus (whole) and annus (year), indicating a Holy day of obligation occurring at yearly intervals. The Church always celebrates each solemnity every year.
Solemnities of the Liturgical Year
The following solemnities are observed by the entire Catholic Church. Holy days of obligation of the Worldwide Church are given in bold letters; they are however often dispensed from by the several episcopal conferenceEpiscopal Conference
In the Roman Catholic Church, an Episcopal Conference, Conference of Bishops, or National Conference of Bishops is an official assembly of all the bishops of a given territory...
s, which is explicitly dealt with in the article
Holy Day of Obligation
In the Catholic Church, Holy Days of Obligation or Holidays of Obligation, less commonly called Feasts of Precept, are the days on which, as of the Code of Canon Law states,-Eastern Catholic Churches:...
. Note that holy days of obligation, when transferred to a Sunday, are of course technically still of obligation, on the Sunday to wit; the expression used in the "notes about date" box is meant to put the things in short terms.
| Date | Solemnity | Notes about date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January | Mary, Mother of the Lord | Octave of Christmas, Circumcision of the Lord, New Year for worldly affairs |
| 6 January | Epiphany of the Lord | If not a Holy Day of Obligation Holy Day of Obligation In the Catholic Church, Holy Days of Obligation or Holidays of Obligation, less commonly called Feasts of Precept, are the days on which, as of the Code of Canon Law states,-Eastern Catholic Churches:... , falls on the Sunday between 2 January and 8 January |
| 19 March | Saint Joseph, spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary | Transferred to 20 March if it falls on a Sunday, but to March 18 if it falls on Palm Sunday Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in all four Canonical Gospels. .... or during Holy Week Holy Week Holy Week in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter... ; Episcopal Conference Episcopal Conference In the Roman Catholic Church, an Episcopal Conference, Conference of Bishops, or National Conference of Bishops is an official assembly of all the bishops of a given territory... s may transfer it to a date outside of Lent |
| 25 March | Annunciation of Mary Annunciation The Annunciation, also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary or Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the announcement by the angel Gabriel to Virgin Mary, that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus the Son of God. Gabriel told Mary to name her... |
Transferred to 26 March if it falls on a Sunday, but to the Monday after the Second Sunday of Easter if it falls on Palm Sunday, during Holy Week, or during the Octave of Easter |
| First Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox, conventionally taken to be 21 March (22 March to 25 April) | Resurrection of the Lord (Easter) Easter Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday... |
Included in the Paschal Triduum that commemorates also the Last Supper, the Passion of Christ, His Death, His Burial, and altogether His whole Work of Redemption. |
| Second Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox, conventionally taken to be 28 March (29 March to 1 May) | Divine Mercy Sunday Divine Mercy Sunday Divine Mercy Sunday is a Roman Catholic solemnity celebrated the Sunday after Easter. It is based on the Catholic devotion to the Divine Mercy due to Saint Faustina Kowalska, and is associated with specific indulgences.-Background:... |
|
| Thursday after the Sixth Sunday of Easter (40th day of Eastertide - 30 April to 3 June) | Ascension of the Lord | If not a Holy Day of Obligation Holy Day of Obligation In the Catholic Church, Holy Days of Obligation or Holidays of Obligation, less commonly called Feasts of Precept, are the days on which, as of the Code of Canon Law states,-Eastern Catholic Churches:... , falls on the Seventh Sunday of Easter (3 May to 6 June) |
| 50th day of Eastertide (10 May to 13 June) | Pentecost Pentecost Pentecost is a prominent feast in the calendar of Ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai, and also later in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection of Jesus... (Whitsunday) |
A Sunday |
| Sunday after Pentecost (17 May to 20 June) | Trinity Sunday Trinity Sunday Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christian liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity... |
|
| Thursday after Trinity Sunday (21 May to 24 June) | Body and Blood of Christ ("Corpus Christi") Corpus Christi (feast) Corpus Christi is a Latin Rite solemnity, now designated the solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ . It is also celebrated in some Anglican, Lutheran and Old Catholic Churches. Like Trinity Sunday and the Solemnity of Christ the King, it does not commemorate a particular event in... |
In some places it is celebrated on the following Sunday. |
| Friday, 8 days after Corpus Christi Thursday, 5 days after Corpus Christi Sunday) (29 May to 2 July) | Sacred Heart of Jesus | |
| 24 June | Nativity of St. John the Baptist Nativity of St. John the Baptist The Nativity of St. John the Baptist is a Christian feast day celebrating the birth of John the Baptist, a prophet who foretold the coming of the Messiah in the person of Jesus and who baptized Jesus.-Significance:Christians have long interpreted the life of John the Baptist as a preparation for... |
Transferred to 25 June if a solemnity of the Lord (Corpus Christi or the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus) falls on 24 June |
| 29 June | Saints Peter and Paul Feast of Saints Peter and Paul The Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, or the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, is a liturgical feast in honour of the martyrdom in Rome of the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul, which is observed on 29 June... |
Transferred to 30 June if a solemnity of the Lord (Most Sacred Heart of Jesus) falls on 29 June. Uncertain whether the obligatory status is then transferred to the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart. |
| 15 August | Assumption of Mary Assumption of Mary According to the belief of Christians of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and parts of the Anglican Communion and Continuing Anglicanism, the Assumption of Mary was the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her life... |
|
| 1 November | All Saints All Saints All Saints' Day , often shortened to All Saints, is a solemnity celebrated on 1 November by parts of Western Christianity, and on the first Sunday after Pentecost in Eastern Christianity, in honour of all the saints, known and unknown... |
|
| 2 November | All Souls | status uncertain: in the calendars normally no rank assigned. Treated as a solemnity yet of mourning and atonement. |
| Last Sunday before Advent (20–26 November) | Feast of Christ the King Feast of Christ the King The Feast of Christ the King is the last holy Sunday in the western liturgical calendar, celebrated by the Roman Catholic Church as well as many Anglicans, Lutherans, and other Mainline Protestants.-Origin and history in the Catholic Church:Pope Pius XI instituted the Feast of Christ the... |
|
| 8 December | Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary Feast of the Immaculate Conception The Feast of the Immaculate Conception celebrates belief in the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is celebrated on 8 December, nine months before the Nativity of Mary, which is celebrated on 8 September. It is the patronal feast day of the United States and the Republic of the... |
Transferred to 9 December if 8 December falls on Sunday |
| 25 December | Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) Christmas Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days... |
Special Solemnities
There are also special solemnities, which are observed in particular places, regions, or in particular religious ordersRoman Catholic religious order
Catholic religious orders are, historically, a category of Catholic religious institutes.Subcategories are canons regular ; monastics ; mendicants Catholic religious orders are, historically, a category of Catholic religious institutes.Subcategories are canons regular (canons and canonesses regular...
. For instance, when a parish or other church celebrates the feast or memorial of its titular saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
or when it celebrates the anniversary of its dedication
Consecration
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...
, it is treated as a solemnity. The feast of Saint Patrick
Saint Patrick
Saint Patrick was a Romano-Briton and Christian missionary, who is the most generally recognized patron saint of Ireland or the Apostle of Ireland, although Brigid of Kildare and Colmcille are also formally patron saints....
on 17 March is a solemnity in Ireland, the feast of Saint Josemaría Escrivá on 26 June is a solemnity within the prelature of Opus Dei
Opus Dei
Opus Dei, formally known as The Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei , is an organization of the Catholic Church that teaches that everyone is called to holiness and that ordinary life is a path to sanctity. The majority of its membership are lay people, with secular priests under the...
, and the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in her role as patroness of the Carmelite Order. The first Carmelites were Christian hermits living on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land during the late 12th and early to mid 13th centuries...
on 16 July is a solemnity for the Carmelites
Carmelites
The Order of the Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel or Carmelites is a Catholic religious order perhaps founded in the 12th century on Mount Carmel, hence its name. However, historical records about its origin remain uncertain...
.
Some solemnities are also Holy Days of Obligation, on which Catholics are required to attend Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
; some are not. Moreover, the canon law
Canon law
Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...
of the Catholic Church requires that on Holy Days of Obligation Catholics are to avoid "work" and "affairs" that "hinder the worship to be rendered to God" or interfere with "suitable relaxation of mind and body" just as is required on Sundays. The Worldwide Church knows of no holidays of obligation below the rank of solemnity, though there are some observed in Germany.
Scheduling
Solemnities never impede the Easter Triduum, Pentecost, Sundays of Advent, Sundays of Lent, Sundays of the Easter Season, Ash Wednesday, Holy Week, and the Easter Octave. No solemnity except the Resurrection of the Lord on Easter Sunday can fall during Holy Week or during the Octave of Easter; the Church transfers any otherwise scheduled solemnity to another available date.Solemnities of the Lord (Epiphany, Annunciation, Ascension, Corpus Christi, Trinity, Christ the King, Nativity), Solemnities of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Mother of God, Assumption, Immaculate Conception), Solemnities of Saints Listed in the General Calendar (Joseph, Nativity of John the Baptist, Peter and Paul, All Saints), All Souls Day, and proper solemnities can impede other Sundays throughout the year.
For all intents and purposes, this means that a solemnity always can impede a Sunday in Ordinary Time
Ordinary Time
Ordinary Time is a season of the Christian liturgical calendar, in particular the calendar of the Roman rite and related liturgical rites. The English name is intended to translate the Latin term Tempus per annum...
.
Observance
The CreedNicene Creed
The Nicene Creed is the creed or profession of faith that is most widely used in Christian liturgy. It is called Nicene because, in its original form, it was adopted in the city of Nicaea by the first ecumenical council, which met there in the year 325.The Nicene Creed has been normative to the...
is recited at Mass, and there are two scriptural readings
Lection
A lection is a reading, in this context, from Scripture.The custom of reading the books of Moses in the synagogues on the Sabbath day was a very ancient one. The addition of lections from the prophetic books had been made afterwards and was in existence at the time of Jesus, as may be gathered...
and a responsorial psalm before the Gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
. When a solemnity falls on a Friday, the obligation to abstain from meat
Fasting and Abstinence in the Roman Catholic Church
For Roman Catholics, fasting is the reduction of one's intake of food to one full meal a day. This may or may not be accompanied by abstinence from meat when eating....
is lifted.
See also
- Liturgical yearLiturgical yearThe liturgical year, also known as the church year, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in Christian churches which determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be observed, and which portions of Scripture are to be read. Distinct liturgical colours may appear in...
- Holy Day of ObligationHoly Day of ObligationIn the Catholic Church, Holy Days of Obligation or Holidays of Obligation, less commonly called Feasts of Precept, are the days on which, as of the Code of Canon Law states,-Eastern Catholic Churches:...
- Octave (liturgical)Octave (liturgical)"Octave" has two senses in Christian liturgical usage. In the first sense, it is the eighth day after a feast, reckoning inclusively, and so always falls on the same day of the week as the feast itself. The word is derived from Latin octava , with dies understood...
- Great Feasts of the Orthodox ChurchGreat Feasts of the Orthodox ChurchThe feast of the Resurrection of Jesus, called Pascha , is the greatest of the feasts of the Eastern Orthodox Church. In addition, there are other days of great importance in the life of the Church - the Twelve Great Feasts ....
- AfterfeastAfterfeastAn Afterfeast is a period of celebration attached to one of the Great Feasts celebrated by the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches ....
External links
- Universalis An excellent liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church including the liturgy of the hours and the mass readings.
- "Solemnity" article from The Catholic Encyclopedia (1912)
- http://www.usccb.org/liturgy/current/2008cal.pdf Liturgical calendar for the year 2008 in the United States of America