Feasts and Saints of October

Solimena, The Martyrdom of Sts Placidus and Flavia,
1697-1708

This post provides a list of this month's feasts for the Benedictine calendar, as well as the 1962 Roman, 1953 Benedictine and modern Roman calendars.  I have given all feasts their 1962 equivalent rankings, but note that these do not always exactly translate!

Note that the Matins texts for feasts ranked as Class II (three nocturn) equivalents in 1953 and earlier, but reduced to Class III in 1962, such as Holy Guardian Angels,  as well as feasts omitted in the later calendar, such as the Maternity of the BVM, can be found in the appendix of the new reprint of the 1963 Benedictine Breviary).  Any missing texts for the day hours can be found in the Antiphonale Monasticum.

Three particular feasts worth noting are St John Henry Newman, on October 9, who is set to be declared a doctor of the Church on 1 November; St Wilfrid OSB, responsible for bringing the Rule to the Kingdom of Northumbria (Northern England) circa 660; and SS Maurus and Placid, disciples of St Benedict, on October 5.

SS Maurus and Placid

The feast of the SS Maurus and Placid is of course of particular importance to Benedictines, but has gone through several evolutions.

Originally, there were two separate feasts for these saints: St Maurus, focusing particularly on his mission to France, on January 15; and St Placid and Companions, martyred in Sicily around 541, on October 5.

The historicity of the stories around both saints has been strongly challenged over the last few centuries, and in response the readings that appear in nineteenth century and earlier breviaries for St Placid and his Companions were replaced, in the twentieth century to generic patristic readings relating to martyrs.  And then in 1960 the two feasts were combined and the readings taken from the accounts of the early life of the two saints that appear in St Gregory's Dialogues.

In essence the argument (in both cases) was that their legends as they have been preserved contain some dubious elements, therefore the whole story must be a fabrication.  And in the case of St Placid, it was claimed that the sixth century figure had been conflated with a earlier St Placid. 

These days, however, historians are becoming more inclined to give the benefit of the doubt to hagiography: while accounts written down long after their time often reflect contemporary agendas and assumptions, get a few facts mixed up and engage in a little creative 'filling in of the gaps', they are often thought, nonetheless, to preserve a core of truth.

Accordingly, it is entirely plausible, in my view, that St Placid and his companions, sent to found a monastery in Messalina, were eventually martyred by pagan pirates in Sicily. 

Date	1960 Benedictine	1962 Roman	1953 Benedictine	Benedictine Confederation/2025 Roman (where extra/different)	Other
1		St Remigius, Memorial		St Teresa of the Child Jesus (see Oct 3), Class III
2	Holy Guardian Angels, Class III	Holy Guardian Angels, Class III	Holy Guardian Angels, Class II	Holy Guardian Angels, Class III
3	St Teresa of the Child Jesus, Memorial [Class I in some places]	St Teresa of the Child Jesus, Class III
4	St Francis, Class III	St Francis, Class III	St Francis, Class II	St Francis, Class III
5	St Maurus and Placid, Class III	St Placid and companions, Memorial	St Placid and companions, Class	St Faustina Kowalska, (Virgin) Optional Class III
6	St Bruno, Memorial	St Bruno, Memorial	St Bruno, Class III	St Bruno, Optional Class III
7	BVM of the Rosary, Class III	BVM of the Rosary, Class II	BVM of the Rosary, Class II; SS Mark; Sergius, Baccius, Marcellus and Apuleius, memorials	BVM of the Rosary, Class III
8		St Bridget of Sweden, Class III
9		St John Leonardi, Class III		St Denis and Companions or St John Leonard, Optional Class III	St John Henry Newman, Doctor,  (England and Wales)
10		St Francis Borgia, Class III
11		Motherhood of the BVM, Class II	Motherhood of the BVM, Class II	St John XXIII, Optional Class III
12		St Edwards, Class III			St Wilfrid, Class III
13					St Edwards, Class II
14	St Callistus, Memorial	St Callistus, Class III	St Callistus, Class III	St Callistus, Optional Class III
15	St Teresa of Avila, Class III	St Teresa of Avila, Class III	St Teresa of Avila, Class III	St Teresa of Avila, Class III
16		St Hedwig, Class III		St Hedwig or St Margaret Mary Alacoque, Optional Class III	St Gall, Class I
17		St Margaret Mary Alacoque, Class III		St Ignatius of Antioch,  Class III [(MD [46], Feb 1]
18	St Luke, Class II	St Luke, Class II	St Luke, Class II	St Luke, Class II
19		St Peter of Alacantara, Class III		SS Jean de Brebeuf, Isaac Joques and companions or St Paul of the Cross, Optional Class III
20		St John Cantius, Class III
21	St Hilarion, Memorial	St Hilarion, Memorial	St Hilarion, Memorial
22				St John Paul II, Optional Class III
23		St Antony Mary Claret, Class III		St John Capistran, Optional Memorial
24		St Raphael, Class III		St Antony Mary Claret, Optional Class III	St Raphael, Class I
25	SS Chrysanthus and Daria, Memorial	SS Chrysanthus and Daria, Memorial	St Chrysanthus and Daria, Memorial
26		St Evaristus, Memorial
27			Vigil of SS Simon and Jude
28	SS Simon and Jude, Class II	SS Simon and Jude, Class II	SS Simon and Jude, Class II	SS Simon and Jude, Class II
29
30
31			Vigil of All Saints
Last Sunday of October	Christ the King, Class I	Christ the King, Class I	Christ the King, Class I