Roman Catholic Saints Calendar

Roman Catholic Saints Calendar

Understanding the Catholic Saints Liturgical Calendars

When navigating our site, you may come across our featured Holy Pages of several Saints and Holy Icons. Most Saints will have a tag with the calendar tradition on which their feast day appears. You'll see four tags: GRC, Tridentine, Martyrologium, and Devotional. Here's what each one means, and why it matters for how Catholics celebrate the saints.

GRC: General Roman Calendar

The General Roman Calendar (also called the Novus Ordo calendar or the Ordinary Form calendar) is the universal liturgical calendar of the Roman Catholic Church as it has existed since 1969, when it was promulgated by Pope Paul VI following the Second Vatican Council.

This is the calendar used at the vast majority of Catholic Masses celebrated worldwide today. It governs which saints are commemorated on which days in the ordinary practice of the Church.

Key characteristics:

  • Promulgated: 1969, by Pope Paul VI
  • Used at: All ordinary form (Novus Ordo) Masses
  • Scope: Universal, binding on the entire Latin Rite Church
  • Revised from: The earlier Tridentine calendar, with some feast days moved, added, or removed
  • Includes: Saints canonized after 1969 (St. John Paul II, St. Teresa of Calcutta, St. Pier Giorgio Frassati, St. Carlo Acutis, and others)

Tridentine: The Traditional Latin Mass Calendar

The Tridentine Calendar is the liturgical calendar used with the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM), also called the Extraordinary Form, the Old Rite, or simply the Traditional Mass. It was codified following the Council of Trent in the 16th century and remained the standard Roman Rite calendar until the 1969 reforms.

The Tridentine calendar is still in active use today wherever the Traditional Latin Mass is celebrated. A practice reaffirmed and regulated by the Church, most recently under Pope Benedict XVI's Summorum Pontificum (2007).

Key characteristics:

  • Codified: Post-Council of Trent, definitively set in 1570 under Pope St. Pius V
  • Used at: Traditional Latin Mass (Extraordinary Form) communities
  • Scope: Universal prior to 1969; now coexists alongside the GRC
  • Includes: Some saints and feast days not retained in the 1969 reform
  • Notable differences: Several feast days fall on different dates than in the GRC

Examples of Tridentine-only feasts:

  • St. Valentine: February 14 (removed from GRC in 1969)
  • St. Christopher: July 25 (removed from GRC in 1969)
  • St. Thomas Aquinas:  March 7 (moved to January 28 in the GRC)
  • St. Monica: May 4 (moved to August 27 in the GRC)

When a saint appears on both calendars:

Some saints carry both the GRC and Tridentine tags. This means the feast is observed in both forms of the Roman Rite, though sometimes on different dates. Where the dates differ, you'll see the saint listed twice, once for each calendar.

 

Martyrologium: Roman Martyrology

The Roman Martyrology (Martyrologium Romanum) is the official register of saints recognized by the Catholic Church. It is distinct from the liturgical calendar. It lists saints by the date of their death or veneration, but does not by itself prescribe a Mass or liturgical celebration.

A saint tagged Martyrologium is officially recognized by the Church and listed in this register, but their feast day does not appear on either the General Roman Calendar or the Tridentine Calendar as a formal liturgical observance. This can happen for several reasons:

  • Their feast date is displaced by a higher-ranking solemnity (St. Tarcisius falls on August 15, which is occupied by the Assumption of Mary)
  • They were never formally inscribed on a universal liturgical calendar, though widely venerated (St. John Berchmans, St. Veronica)
  • Their historical record is uncertain, though their veneration is ancient and officially recognized (St. Dismas, the Good Thief)

Despite having no formal Mass assigned on the universal calendar, these saints are fully and officially recognized by the Church, and their intercession may be sought by the faithful.

 

Devotional: Celebrated by Popular Piety

The Devotional tag covers saints and holy figures whose feast days are celebrated by Catholic faithful through long tradition, popular piety, or regional custom, but whose feasts do not appear on either the current universal GRC or the Tridentine calendar.

This is a broad and beautiful category. It includes:

  • Regional and national patron saints whose feasts are celebrated in particular countries or dioceses but not universally.

  • The Blessed, those who have been beatified but not yet canonized, whose feast days are approved for local celebration. 

  • Saints of strong popular devotion who have been removed from the universal calendar but continue to be venerated.

  • Marian apparition feasts celebrated locally or regionally.

The Church has always recognized that liturgical calendars do not define the boundaries of saintly intercession. As the Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy (2001) notes, popular devotion is "a treasure of the Church" that complements and enriches the formal liturgy.

Why do some saints appear twice?

When a saint's feast day falls on different dates in the GRC and Tridentine calendars, we list them twice. Once for each date, so that both communities can find them in the right week. Examples:

  • St. Thomas Aquinas: March 7 (Tridentine) and January 28 (GRC)
  • St. Monica: May 4 (Tridentine) and August 27 (GRC)

Further reading

This guide and our Holy Pages reflect our best understanding of the liturgical calendars. If you notice a feast day that needs correction, please contact us. We welcome the help of our knowledgeable customers.

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