It is essentially the same calendar established by Pope Pius X (1903–1914) following his liturgical reforms, but it also incorporates changes that were made by Pope Pius XI (1922–1939), such as the institution of the Feast of Christ the King (assigned to the last Sunday in October), and the changes made by Pope Pius XII (1939–1958) prior to 1955, chief among them the imposition of the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary upon the universal Church (August 22, on the existing octave day of the Assumption) in 1944, the inscription of Pius X into the General Calendar (September 3) following his 1954 canonization, and the institution of the Feast of the Queenship of Mary (May 31) in October 1954.
They included: a revision of the Church's traditional ranking of liturgical days; the institution of the feast of St. Joseph the Worker on May 1 as a Double of the I Class, requiring the transfer of Ss.
Philip and James to May 11; the suppression of the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, which for just over a century had been celebrated on the second Wednesday after the Octave of Easter.
Five years later, Pope John XXIII made a further revision with the motu proprio Rubricarum instructum[1] of July 23, 1960.
For most of the celebrations here listed, the Mass is found in the Roman Missal of the time in the section called the "Proper of the Saints", but for those occurring from 24 December to 13 January it is found in the "Proper of the Season", as these days do not move with respect to the seasons of the Church year.
Some think that the greater festivals were thus styled because the antiphons before and after the psalms were "doubled", i.e. twice repeated entire on these days.
Others, with more probability, point to the fact that before the ninth century in certain places, for example at Rome, it was customary on the greater feast days to recite two sets of Matins, the one of the feria or week-day, the other of the festival.
[8] The Catholic Encyclopedia of the early years of the twentieth century shows the incremental crowding of the calendar (which had increased further by 1954) in the following table based on the official revisions of the Roman Breviary in 1568,[9] 1602, 1631, 1882 and on the situation in 1907.
The Sunday within the Octave of the Nativity was a special case, due to the fixed date of Christmas and the high rank of the feast days following it.
These days set apart for special prayer and fasting were considered especially suitable for the ordination of clergy.
All other vigils were "common" and took precedence only over ferias and Simple feast days, but were anticipated on Saturday if they fell on Sunday.
Sunday within the Octave of the Epiphany: The Most Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Greater Double.
[21] Friday after Passion Sunday: Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Greater Double, Com.
Wednesday within the second week after the Octave of Easter: Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Confessor, and Patron of the Universal Church, Double of the I Class with a common Octave (from 1871 to 1954) Last Sunday in October: The Feast of our Lord Jesus Christ the King, Double of the I Class, Com.
Although not listed on the general Calendar, a commemoration of St. Anastasia Martyr is made at the second Mass on Christmas Day.
The rule has since the Middle Ages been phrased as "Easter is observed on the Sunday after the first full moon on or after the day of the vernal equinox."
The pre-1962 Roman Missal also listed a number of celebrations in the section headed "Mass for Some Places".