The Martyrology and the particular calendars

The General Roman Calendar lists the celebrations kept by the whole Roman Rite. Dioceses, nations and religious families keep their own saints as well, in their proper calendars. The Roman Martyrology stands between the two: it contains every saint of the General Calendar, and many, though not all, of the saints of the particular calendars. This page explains how the book and those calendars fit together. The Praenotanda rely throughout on the Instruction Calendaria particularia of the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship (24 June 1970).

The General Calendar and the particular calendars

The martyrology lists the saints inscribed in the Roman Calendar, whose importance is universal across the Roman Rite, and also many of those commended to a particular Church or religious family and commemorated there at some liturgical rank (Praenotanda, n. 29).

Every diocese and every religious family should have its own proper calendar, and each conference of bishops draws up the proper calendar of its nation, or, with other conferences, of a wider region. All these calendars must agree with the Roman Martyrology, and all are approved or confirmed by the Apostolic See (Praenotanda, n. 32).

Saints and blessed

A saint inscribed in the martyrology on a given day may be celebrated on that day, in the Mass and the Office, wherever an optional memorial is allowed (Praenotanda, n. 30).

A blessed may be celebrated only in the diocese, nation, region or religious family to which the Apostolic See has granted that cult (Praenotanda, n. 31). The asterisk beside an entry number marks this particular or local standing; see Asterisks.

When the dies natalis is impeded

A saint's day in the martyrology is normally their dies natalis, the day of their death and birth into heaven. If that day is impeded every year by a celebration of higher rank, the proper calendar may keep the saint on the nearest free day, or on another day connected with them: the finding, elevation or translation of their relics, or, less fittingly, the day of their canonization or beatification. The eulogy is then read with one of the formulas for a transferred memorial (Praenotanda, n. 33); see Transferred memorials.

Titulars of churches

Any saint inscribed in the Roman Martyrology may be chosen as the titular of a church. A blessed may be chosen only with an indult of the Apostolic See, unless that blessed is already lawfully inscribed in the proper calendar of the diocese or nation (Praenotanda, n. 34).

The Propria of the Martyrology

A diocese, nation or religious family may draw up a Proper of the Martyrology (Proprium or Appendix Martyrologii). It lists the saints and blessed of its proper calendar who are absent from the Roman Martyrology, who are kept there on another day or at another rank, or whose eulogy it has seemed right to give at a little more length. Such a Proper is sent to the Congregation for Divine Worship for review and approval or confirmation (Praenotanda, n. 38).

The Praenotanda also say how these eulogies are to be written. They are not to imitate the genre of the "Lives" or "Legends"; as far as possible they show the paschal victory of Christ in his servants and the particular grace given to each. Historical truth is to be kept strictly, with no homiletic or devotional matter, and a eulogy should not exceed about forty words (Praenotanda, n. 39).

The editions of the conferences

The conferences of bishops prepare translations of the martyrology into modern languages, keeping the text whole and faithful while respecting its literary genre (Praenotanda, n. 40).

In a conference's edition, the eulogies proper to a whole nation or region, by concession of the Holy See, come first on their day, right after the eulogies of the celebrations of the General Calendar, and are printed in the same type. Eulogies proper to a territory or a diocese always go into a separate appendix. Every such edition is approved by the conference and reviewed by the Apostolic See; the same holds, with the necessary changes, for a religious family (Praenotanda, n. 41).

Finally, a translation of the Roman Martyrology, which must be complete, is not the same as a partial collection drawn from it for pastoral use; such collections are not meant for liturgical use (Praenotanda, n. 42).