GENERAL FEASTS
All Saints | All Souls | Holy Family | Holy Innocents
Guardian Angels | Chair of Peter, Apostle | First Martyrs of Rome
Dedication of the Basilica of St. Peter and Paul
Dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran
Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major
All Saints - Feast - November 1
This feast originated in the fourth century as the Eastern Feast of all Martyrs and was attested to by St. Ephrem. In 835 A.D., Pope Gregory IV established the commemoration for all Roman Churches. It was celebrated on Easter Friday and eventually came to be held in Rome on May 13th. The feast was transferred to November 1st in the ninth century where it countered the Celtic pagan feast of the Druids in Ireland.
All Souls - Feast - November 2
The earliest reference to praying for the dead actually comes from the Bible in 2 Maccabees, chapter 12, verses 43-46.
He then took up a collection among all his soldiers, amounting to two thousand silver drachmas, which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for an expiatory sacrifice. In doing this he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection of the dead in view; for if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been useless and foolish to pray for them in death. But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin.
However, it is not until 998 A.D. that All Souls was formally moved to November 2nd by St. Odilo. There are actually two names for the day "All Souls Day" and "The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed". The influence of the monks of St. Cluny in the 11th century caused its spread. However, it was not until the 14th century that it began to be celebrated in Rome. Pope Benedict XIV in 1748 A.D. brought the custom of allowing three Masses to be said on that day. Finally in 1915 A.D. Pope Benedict further extended the privilege of saying three Masses to the whole Western church.
Chair of Peter, Apostle - Feast - February 22
There seems to be a lot of discrepancy in how this feast actually started and why. The intent of the feast today is to celebrate the primacy and authority of Peter and his office. The chair was secured in Bernini's magnificent Altar of the Chair at St. Peter Basilica in the 17th century.
First Martyrs of the Church of Rome - Feast - June 30
In 64 A.D. an intentionally set fire killed a large number of Chirstians. During the reign of Nero the number of Christians to be martyred continued to grow. We know from Tacitus that the Christians were thrown to wild animals and burned at the stake as human torches. St. Jerome list 979 martyrs in his Martyrology. The feast began to be celebrated in Rome in 1923 and universally in 1969.
Guardian Angels - Feast - October 2
This feast, kept in Spain since the 16th century, was extended to the whole Church by Pope Paul V in 1608. It was assigned to the first free day after the feast of St. Michael by Pope Clement X in 1670. Guardian Angels are God's messengers whose mission is to serve the future heirs of salvation. It is generally thought that in addition to each individual having their own guardian angel that kingdoms, provinces, families, dioceses, churches, and religious communities each have one.
Holy Family - Feast - Sunday in the Octave of Christmas or December 30
This feast was developed in the 17th century. It is based on the Gospel accounts. This family is looked upon as an excellent domestic unit representing the ideal family life. This feast was established in the Universal Church in 1921. The Feast of the Holy Family is celebrated on the Sunday in the Octave of Christmas or on December 30 if Christmas falls on Sunday.
Holy Innocents - Feast - December 28
This feasts honors those infant martyrs slain by Herod. It is impossible to determine the day or the year of the death of the Holy Innocents, since the chronology of the birth of Christ and the subsequent Biblical events is most uncertain. All we know is that the infants were slaughtered within two years following the apparition of the star to the Wise Men. The Latin Church instituted the feast of the Holy Innocents at a date now unknown, not before the end of the fourth and not later than the end of the fifth century. It is, with the feasts of St. Stephen and St. John, first found in the Leonine Sacramentary, dating from about 485. To the Philocalian Calendar of 354 it is unknown.
Conversion of Paul - Feast - January 25
This feast originated in France at the end of the sixth century, when some relics of the apostle were transferred there. It was not celebrated in Rome until the eleventh century, perhaps in connection with the feast of the Chair of St. Peter, celebrated in France on January 18. The importance of the conversion of the "Apostle to the Gentiles" is evident from the three accounts given in the Acts of the Apostles 9:1-30; 22:3-21; 26:9-20.
Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome - Feast - November 9
The land on which the Basilica is built was donated by the Laterani family to Pope Sylvester I in 324 A.D. The Basilica is the episcopal seat of the pope as bishop of Rome and is considered to be the mother and head of all churches in the world. The Emporer Constantine built the Basilica in the 12th century many years after the acquisition of the land. The Lateran Basilica was the site of 5 ecumenical councils and the resident of the pope from the 4th century until their move Avignon in 1309 A.D. It is dedicated to the Savior and to John the Baptist.
Dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major - Feast - August 5
This feast was instituted by Pope Sixtus III on August 5th as a local feast in 5th century. The feast became a universal feast in the fourteenth century. Legend has it that the Blessed Mother appeared in a vision asking for the construction of this church and the snow that fell on the ground between August 5th and 6th outlined where the church was to be located. Hence the title Our Lady of the Snows. Pope Liberius dedicated the church in 366 A.D. The feast was officially added to the Roman Calendar in 1586.
Dedication of the Basilicas of the Apostles Peter and Paul in Rome - Feast - November 18
This feast as been commemorated on November 18th since the eleventh century. Constantine built the first basilica over the tomb of St. Peter around 330 A.D. On November 18, 1626 the current basilica was consecrated.
St. Paul's on the Via Ostiense was begun by Valentinian II in 386 A.D. This basilica took the place of the smaller one built by Constantine. The basilica built by Valentinian II was destroyed by fire in 1823. The new basilica was consecrated December 10, 1854 by Pope Pius IX who joined the celebration of these two basilicas together.
Both original basilicas were completed by Pope Sylvester and Siricius in the fourth century. These basilicas are two of the four major basilicas in Rome which include the basilica of St. John Lateran who dedication is celebrated on November 9th and the basilica of St. Mary Major whose dedication is celebrated on August 5th.