The editions on this site
The home page shows the editions of the Roman Martyrology as books on a shelf, newest to oldest. Open one to read today's page, then turn the pages day by day. This page says what each edition is.
Kinds of edition
- An editio typica is the official Latin text, the reference for every other edition. A revised reprint is an editio typica recognita; a second typical edition is an editio typica altera.
- An editio vernacula is a translation approved by a conference of bishops and confirmed by the Apostolic See, which becomes the official text for liturgical use in that language.
- An unofficial translation is a translation with no such approval. It is useful for reading, but it is not a liturgical book.
The editions
| Year | Edition | Language | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Martyrologium Romanum, editio altera | Latin | editio typica altera |
| 2004 | Martirologio Romano (CEI) | Italian | editio vernacula |
| 2004 | Roman Martyrology | English | unofficial translation |
| 1914 | The Roman Martyrology (Baltimore, 1916) | English | unofficial translation |
| 1749 | Martyrologium Romanum of Benedict XIV | Latin | editio typica recognita |
| 1630 | Martyrologium Romanum of Urban VIII, with Baronius's notes | Latin | editio typica recognita |
The 2004 Latin edition is the edition in force: the editio typica altera promulgated on 29 June 2004 (see History). Its days give this site's identifiers their dates (see Canonical eulogy IDs). It prints the lunar table.
The Italian edition is the translation of the Italian Episcopal Conference, confirmed in 2006, the official text for liturgical use in Italian. It prints the lunar table too, and its own Praenotanda (Premesse). Where it differs from the Latin print, in its asterisks, the order of a day or an error of translation, the site says so in a note.
The 2004 English translation is unofficial; no approved English edition of the 2004 text exists.
The 1914 English translation renders the Latin edition printed at Rome in 1914, and was published in Baltimore in 1916 with the imprimatur of Cardinal Gibbons.
The 1749 edition is the edition of Benedict XIV, in a modern retyping of a 1913 printing; it therefore includes the saints added after 1749, up to the beginning of the twentieth century.
The 1630 edition is the edition printed at the Vatican under Urban VIII, with Baronius's Notationes at the foot of each page and, in the margin, references to his Annales. It is transcribed from the printed book and proofread against the page images. It prints the lunar table.
Some editions are listed on the shelf but cannot be opened yet: the first edition of 1584, the Latin edition of 1914 and the editio typica of 2001.
Who can read the texts
The older editions are in the public domain. The 2004 texts are under copyright; the site currently shows them to every reader, and may restrict them to signed-in readers in the future. The identifiers, the subjects and the places of every eulogy are open data in any case (see Data and sources).
Reading two editions side by side
From any day, the reader can set another edition beside the one you are reading, eulogy by eulogy. Eulogies are matched by their identifiers, so the same saint stands on the same line even where the two editions number or order the day differently.