Roman Martyrology

Last updated

The Roman Martyrology (Latin : Martyrologium Romanum) is the official martyrology of the Catholic Church. Its use is obligatory in matters regarding the Roman Rite liturgy, but dioceses, countries and religious institutes may add duly approved appendices to it. [1] It provides an extensive but not exhaustive list of the saints recognized by the Church. [2]

Contents

History

In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII decreed a revision of the Julian calendar, creating a new system, now called, after him, the Gregorian calendar. The Roman Martyrology was first published in 1583. A second edition was published in the same year. The third edition, in 1584, was made obligatory wherever the Roman Rite was in use. [3]

The main source was the Martyrology of Usuard, completed by the Dialogues of Pope Gregory I and the works of some of the Fathers, and for the Greek saints by the catalogue known as the Menologion of Sirlet. [3] [4] Its origins can be traced back to the Martyrologium Hieronymianum, which was originally based on calendars of Roman, African and Syrian provenance, but to which were gradually added names of many saints from other areas, resulting in a number of duplications, fusions of different saints into one, and other mistakes. [5]

Very soon, in 1586 and again in 1589, revised editions were published with corrections by Caesar Baronius along with indications of the sources on which he drew, and in 1630 Pope Urban VIII issued a new edition. [3] 1748 saw the appearance of a revised edition by Pope Benedict XIV, who personally worked on the corrections: he suppressed some names, such as those of Clement of Alexandria and Sulpicius Severus, but kept others that had been objected to, such as that of Pope Siricius. Subsequent changes until the edition of 2001 were minor, involving some corrections, but mainly the addition of the names of newly canonized saints.

Recent developments

The Second Vatican Council decreed: "The accounts of martyrdom or the lives of the saints are to accord with the facts of history." [6] This required years of study, after which a fully revised edition of the Roman Martyrology was issued in Latin (entitled Martyrologium Romanum) in 2001, followed in 2004 by a revision that corrected some typographical errors in the 2001 edition and added 117 people canonized or beatified between 2001 and 2004, as well as a considerable number of ancient saints not included in the previous edition. "The updated Martyrology contains 7,000 saints and blesseds currently venerated by the Church, and whose cult is officially recognized and proposed to the faithful as models worthy of imitation." [7] [8]

Use of the Martyrology in the Roman Rite

As an official list of recognised saints and beati, inclusion in the Roman Martyrology authorises the recognition of saints in the following ways:

Such commemorations in honour of a person who has only been beatified are only permitted in the diocese or religious order where the cult of that person is authorised, unless special permission is obtained from the Holy See. [11]

Ceremonial surrounding the Martyrology

The entry for each date in the Martyrology is to be read on the previous day. [12] Reading in choir is recommended, but the reading may also be done otherwise: [13] in seminaries and similar institutes, it has been traditional to read it after the main meal of the day.

Prior to the Second Vatican Council, and where the 1962 liturgical books are used as authorised by Summorum Pontificum , the Martyrology is read at the canonical Hour of Prime. If the Martyrology is read in the post-Vatican II form, this is usually done after the concluding prayer of Lauds, the Hour that preceded Prime.

If the Martyrology is read outside of the Liturgy of the Hours, as for instance in the refectory, the reading begins with the mention of the date, followed, optionally, by mention of the phase of the moon. Then the actual text of the Martyrology entry is read, ending with the versicle taken from Psalm 116: Pretiosa in conspectu Domini – Mors Sanctorum eius ("Precious in the sight of the Lord – Is the death of his Saints"). A short Scripture reading may follow, which the reader concludes with Verbum Domini ("The word of the Lord"), to which those present respond: Deo gratias ("Thanks be to God"). A prayer, for which texts are given in the Martyrology, is recited, followed by a blessing and dismissal. [14]

If the Martyrology is read within the Liturgy of the Hours, the same form is used, but without the optional scripture reading. [15]

Special rubrics

Reading of the Martyrology is completely omitted during the Paschal Triduum: Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday (in which no saints of Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday are commemorated). [16]

On certain dates of the liturgical year, the Martyrology prescribes special announcements to be made before or after the commemoration of saints: [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Missal</span> Central book of the most widespread Catholic liturgical rite

The Roman Missal is the title of several missals used in the celebration of the Roman Rite. Along with other liturgical books of the Roman Rite, the Roman Missal contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of the most common liturgy and Mass of the Catholic Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liturgical year</span> Annually recurring fixed sequence of Christian feast days

The liturgical year, also called the church year, Christian year or kalendar, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in Christian churches that determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be observed, and which portions of Scripture are to be read either in an annual cycle or in a cycle of several years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mass of Paul VI</span> Type of liturgical rite in the Roman Catholic Church

The Mass of Paul VI, also known as the Ordinary Form or Novus Ordo, is the most commonly used liturgy in the Catholic Church. It was promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1969 and its liturgical books were published in 1970; those books were then revised in 1975, they were revised again by Pope John Paul II in 2000, and a third revision was published in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tridentine Mass</span> Form of liturgy in the Roman Rite

The Tridentine Mass, also known as the Traditional Latin Mass or the Traditional Rite, is the liturgy in the Roman Missal of the Catholic Church codified in 1570 and published thereafter with amendments up to 1962. Celebrated almost exclusively in Ecclesiastical Latin, it was the most widely used Eucharistic liturgy in the world from its issuance in 1570 until the introduction of the Mass of Paul VI.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Septuagesima</span> Third Sunday before Ash Wednesday

Septuagesima is the name for the ninth Sunday before Easter, the third before Ash Wednesday. The term is sometimes applied to the seventy days starting on Septuagesima Sunday and ending on the Saturday after Easter. Alternatively, the term is sometimes applied also to the period sometimes called pre-Lent that begins on this day and ends on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, when Lent begins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paschal Triduum</span> Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday

The Paschal Triduum or Easter Triduum, Holy Triduum, or the Three Days, is the period of three days that begins with the liturgy on the evening of Maundy Thursday, reaches its high point in the Easter Vigil, and closes with evening prayer on Easter Sunday. It is a moveable observance recalling the Passion, Crucifixion, Death, burial, and Resurrection of Jesus, as portrayed in the canonical Gospels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Missal</span> Liturgical book

A missal is a liturgical book containing instructions and texts necessary for the celebration of Mass throughout the liturgical year. Versions differ across liturgical tradition, period, and purpose, with some missals intended to enable a priest to celebrate Mass publicly and others for private and lay use. The texts of the most common Eucharistic liturgy in the world, the Catholic Church's Mass of Paul VI of the Roman Rite, are contained in the 1970 edition of the Roman Missal.

A martyrology is a catalogue or list of martyrs and other saints and beati arranged in the calendar order of their anniversaries or feasts. Local martyrologies record exclusively the custom of a particular Church. Local lists were enriched by names borrowed from neighbouring churches. Consolidation occurred, by the combination of several local martyrologies, with or without borrowings from literary sources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liturgy of the Hours</span> Liturgical prayers of the Catholic Church, used at fixed times throughout the day and night

The Liturgy of the Hours, Divine Office, or Opus Dei are a set of Catholic prayers comprising the canonical hours, often also referred to as the breviary, of the Latin Church. The Liturgy of the Hours forms the official set of prayers "marking the hours of each day and sanctifying the day with prayer." The term "Liturgy of the Hours" has been retroactively applied to the practices of saying the canonical hours in both the Christian East and West–particularly within the Latin liturgical rites–prior to the Second Vatican Council, and is the official term for the canonical hours promulgated for usage by the Latin Church in 1971. Before 1971, the official form for the Latin Church was the Breviarium Romanum, first published in 1568 with major editions through 1962.

In the Latin liturgical rites of the Catholic Church, a commemoration is the recital, within the Liturgy of the Hours or the Mass of one celebration, of part of another celebration that is generally of lower rank and impeded because of a coincidence of date.

Missale Romanum is the incipit of an apostolic constitution issued by Pope Paul VI on 3 April 1969. It promulgated the new revised version of the Roman Missal.

The General Roman Calendar is the liturgical calendar that indicates the dates of celebrations of saints and mysteries of the Lord in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, wherever this liturgical rite is in use. These celebrations are a fixed annual date, or occur on a particular day of the week. Examples are the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord in January and the Feast of Christ the King in November.

"Octave" has two senses in Christian liturgical usage. In the first sense, it is the eighth day after a feast, reckoning inclusively, and so always falls on the same day of the week as the feast itself. The word is derived from Latin octava (eighth), with dies (day) understood. In the second sense, the term is applied to the whole period of these eight days, during which certain major feasts came to be observed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agapitus of Palestrina</span> Martyr child saint

Agapitus is venerated as a martyr saint, who died on August 18, perhaps in 274, a date that the latest editions of the Roman Martyrology say is uncertain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liturgical books of the Roman Rite</span> Key texts of Catholicisms most widespread public worship service

The liturgical books of the Roman Rite are the official books containing the words to be recited and the actions to be performed in the celebration of Catholic liturgy as done in Rome. The Roman Rite of the Latin or Western Church of the Catholic Church is the most widely celebrated of the scores of Catholic liturgical rites. The titles of some of these books contain the adjective "Roman", e.g. the "Roman Missal", to distinguish them from the liturgical books for the other rites of the Church.

<i>Roman Gradual</i> Liturgical book of the Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Gradual is an official liturgical book of the Roman Rite of the Roman Catholic Church containing chants, including the proper and many more, for use in Mass.

Mysterii Paschalis is an apostolic letter issued motu proprio by Pope Paul VI on 14 February 1969. It reorganized the liturgical year of the Roman Rite and revised the liturgical celebrations of Jesus Christ and the saints in the General Roman Calendar. It promulgated the General Roman Calendar of 1969.

1969 edition of the General Roman Calendar was promulgated on 1 January 1970 by Paul VI's Mysterii Paschalis. It is the current version of the General Roman Calendar.

The Proclamation of the Birth of Christ, Kalenda Proclamation, or Christmas Proclamation, is a chant sung before the Midnight Mass for Christmas in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. The long text is a timeline, in which each verse represents the years from an historical event, either secular or religious, until birth of Jesus Christ, and the number of years – expressed in centuries or years – decreases until the day of the first Christmas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Preconciliar rites after the Second Vatican Council</span>

In the Catholic Church, preconciliar Latin liturgical rites coexist with postconciliar rites. In the years following the Second Vatican Council, Pope Paul VI initiated significant changes. Some of Paul VI's contemporaries, who considered the changes to be too drastic, obtained from him limited permission for the continued use of the previous Roman Missal. In the years since, the Holy See has granted varying degrees of permission to celebrate the Roman Rite and other Latin rites in the same manner as before the council. The use of preconciliar rites is associated with traditionalist Catholicism.

References

  1. ↑ Martyrologium Romanum, Praenotanda, 38
  2. ↑ Martyrologium Romanum, Praenotanda, 27–29
  3. 1 2 3 Delehaye, Hippolyte (1910). "Martyrology"  . Catholic Encyclopedia . Vol. 9.
  4. ↑ Holweck, F. G. (1924). A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints: With a General Introduction on Hagiology. St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co. p. xi. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
  5. ↑ Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Decree Victoriam paschalem, 29 June 2001 Archived 28 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ Sacrosanctum Concilium 92 c
  7. ↑ Adoremus Bulletin, February 2005
  8. ↑ Complete list of changes introduced in the 2004 edition (Notitiae, vol. 41 (2005), 1−2, pp. 24−63)
  9. ↑ Martyrologium Romanum, Praenotanda, 26, 30; cf. General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 316; General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours, 244.
  10. ↑ Praenotanda, 34
  11. ↑ Praenotanda, 31, 34
  12. ↑ Praenotanda, 35
  13. ↑ Praenotanda, 36
  14. ↑ Martyrologium Romanum, Ordo Lectionis Martyrologii, 13–16
  15. ↑ Ordo Lectionis Martyrologii, 1–6
  16. ↑ Ordo Lectionis Martyrologii, 8
  17. ↑ Ordo Lectionis Martyrologii, 7 & 9
  18. ↑ International Commission on English in the Liturgy (2011). Proclamations for Christmas, Epiphany, and Easter. Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications. p. v. ISBN   978-1-56854-940-8.
  19. ↑ Tucker, Jeffrey. "The Roman Rite Christmas Proclamation". New Liturgical Movement. Retrieved 6 June 2013.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.