Saints and feasts of June

You can find links to notes on some of the feasts that occur in June below.

June 1

St Inigo OSB

June 2

SS Marcellius and Peter

June 5

St Boniface OSB

June 6

St Norbert

June 9

SS Primus and Felician

June 11

St Barnabas

June 13

St Anthony of Padua

June 14

St Basil the Great (Class III)

June 15

St Vitus (memorial)

June 18

SS Ephrem, Mark and Marcellianus (memorials)
St Ephrem Syrus, comm of Mark and Marcellianus

June 19

St Romuald OSB
SS Gervase and Protase (memorial)

June 21

St Aloysius Gonzaga

June 23

Vigil of St John the Baptist

June 24

Birthday of St John the Baptist

June 25

St William of Monte Virgine OSB

June 26

SS John and Paul

June 28

Vigil of SS Peter and Paul

June 29

SS Peter and Paul

June 30

Commemoration of St Paul

Saints and feasts of May

May 1

St Joseph the Worker (1) (2)

May 2

St Athanasius

May 3

SS Alexander, Eventius And Theodolus, memorial
SS Alexander, Eventius and Theodolus - martyrology entry


Finding of Holy Cross (abolished in most calendars)

May 4

St Monica

May 5

Pope St Pius V martyrology entry

May 9

St Gregory Nazienzen martyrology entry

May 10

SS Gordian and Epimarchus Martyrology entry

May 11

SS Philip and James

May 12

SS Nereus, Achilleus and Pancreas

May 13

St Robert Bellarmine

May 14

St Pachomius

May 19

St Peter Celestine OSB

May 24

Our Lady Help of Christians
Collect for the feast of Our Lady Help of Christians

May 25

Pope St Gregory VII OSB

May 26

St Augustine of Canterbury OSB

May 27

St Bede the Venerable OSB

Saints and Feasts of March

March 1

March 2

St Chad

March 3

March 4

March 5

March 6

SS Felicity and Perpetua
SS Felicity and Perpetua

March 7

St Thomas Aquinas
St Thomas Aquinas

March 8

St John of God

March 9

St Francis of Rome OSB

March 10

The forty martyrs

March 11

March 12

On St Gregory's dialogues (incl Life of St Benedict)
St Gregory the Great - Life
St Gregory the Great - martyrology entry
St Gregory the Great - second nocturn readings of Matins

Novena for the feast of St Benedict, Day 1

March 13

March 14

St Matilda

March 15

SS Longinus, Leocritia, Matrona and Louise de Marillac

March 16

Canadian Jesuit martyrs

March 17

St Patrick

March 18

St Cyril of Jerusalem

March 19

St Joseph - Martyrology entry

March 20

SS Cuthbert and Wulfram OSB

March 21

Note on the dates of the feasts of St Benedict
St Benedict - Martyrology entry
St Benedict - Matins second nocturn readings
St Benedict - Gospel for the feast

March 22

Once was...the octave of St Benedict

March 23

St Benedict (former) Octave Day 3 readings

March 24

St Benedict (former) Octave Day 4
St Gabriel

March 25

Feast of the Annunciation

March 27

St Benedict Day 6 in the former Octave
St John Damascene

March 28

St Benedict Day 7 in the former Octave
St John Capistrano

March 29

St Benedict - former Octave Day
St Eustasius

March 30

St John Climacus

Notes on the feasts of February

1 February  - St Ignatius (Class III)

St Ignatius of Antioch - Pope Benedict General Audience; Matins reading

St Brigid

2 February - Purification of the BVM (Class II)

Candlemas aka Feast of the Purification
Feast of the Purification/2

3 February – St Blase (Memorial)

St Blaise and the blessing of throats
St Blaise in the martyrology

4 February 

St Gilbert of Sempringham
St Rabanus Maurus OSB

5 February  – St Agatha (Class III)

St Agatha

6 February  

St Dorothy

7 February – St Romuald (Class III)

St Romuald OSB
St Romauald - Butler's lives

8 February

9 February 

10 February  - St Scholastica, sister of St Benedict (Class II; Class I for nuns)

St Scholastica
St Scholastica/2
St Scholastica (Martyrology entry)

11 February

St Benedict of Aniane OSB

12 February 

13 February 

14 February – St Valentine, memorial [in Europe: SS Cyril and Methodius]

St Valentine
St Antoinine of Sorrento OSB

15 February 

16 February 

17 February 

18 February 

19 February 

20 February

21 February 

St Peter Mavimenus (martyrology)

22 February  – Chair of St Peter, Class III

St Peter's Chair

23 February  - St Peter Damian, memorial  

St Peter Damian OSB

24 February or 25 Feb in leap year - St Matthias, Class II

St Matthias

25 February  - (in some places St Walburga, Class I)

St Walburga OSB

26 February  

27 February 

St Porphyrius (martyrology)

28 February 

St Florentina (from the martyrology)

29 February

St Romanus of Lyon

Happy New year!

Rule of St Benedict
Codex Sangallensis

I'd like to wish all readers a happy and holy new year - and a reminder to join in the public recitation of the Te Deum in thanksgiving for the year on December 31, and the Veni Creator on January 1 to gain the plenary indulgences attached to them (partial if said privately).

I'd also like to let you know about a couple of projects that I've already started on, but will hopefully push along further in the new year, and am posting elsewhere, that may be of interest.

Matins readings

First, over at my Lectio Divina blog I'm in the process of compiling lists of all the Matins readings for the Benedictine Office, grouped by liturgical season (and there will be a separate post for major feasts of saints).

I'll put indexes of links (masterposts) in the sidebar for future reference, though at the moment I'm also posting weekly lists that also show the readings for any feasts that interrupt the normal seasonal cycle (you can subscribe to these by email through the link on the blog).

In the past over there I've posted English translations of most of the Sunday Gospels, and Third Nocturn readings on them; links to past posts can be found in the masterposts.  Over the course of 2016 I'll try to fill in the gpas, as well as go back and fill in the first and second nocturn readings for the Sunday cycle (where I can find an online version of them).

Lectio divina around the liturgical cycle of readings

I've also previously posted notes over at the Lectio Divina blog on each of the Gospels, spread over a three month cycle (so you can read all of them in a year).  I've put up a masterpost for the notes on St Matthew, and plan to fill out gaps in them over the next quarter.  I'll also try and make the notes on the other Gospels more accessible in the same way, as well as provide brief notes on the books of the Bible being read in the Office (at Matins).

Reading the Rule of St Benedict

Thirdly, I'm planning a series, starting in the new year, offering some reading notes on the Rule of St Benedict, and you find these over at my new Lectio Regula blog (it is easier to keep topics separate rather than clog up this one I think).

Each day I'll provide both the English and the Latin, divided up over four months in the traditional arrangement.  I'll also try and provide some notes of my own on it (though no guarantees that I'll comment on every part of the Rule, though I will certainly do my best).

I'm not planning to provide a complete or polished commentary on the Rule, but rather to focus in on some particular aspects of it, mostly around the way that St Benedict uses Scripture, and the links between the Rule and the shape of the Benedictine Office.  I've written a post that sets out some of the main themes I plan to focus on that you can read here.

Notes on the saints and feasts (and former feasts) of January

Some time ago I put together summary pages of my notes on assorted feasts and saints for each month of the year.  The old posts are rather out of date though, so herewith an updated version.

giving thanks for the year past, and the year to come

1 JANUARY 

Octave Day of Christmas/Circumcision of Our Lord

Monastic saints whose feasts fall on this day:

St Fulgentius of Ruspe  (d533)

St Eugendus, Abbot  of Condat (d 510)

2 JANUARY

St Thomas of Canterbury (Thomas a Becket), bishop & martyr  (In some places)

Pre-1960 calendar

Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus

Octave Day of St Stephen (pre 1960)

3 January  

Pre-1960 calendar

Once was...Octave Day of St John the Evangelist

4 January 

St Titus, bishop &confessor (memorial)

St Elizabeth Anne Seton (in some places)

Octave Day of the Holy Innocents

5 January 

St John Neumann (in some places)

Pre 1960 calendar:

Once was..and sort of is again...vigil of the Epiphany

Saints of the martyrology: SS Telesphorus, Apollinaris, Emiliana

6 January

Feast of the Epiphany
More on the Epiphany
Twelfth Day

Sunday after Epiphany

Sunday after Epiphany or Holy Family?
Pick your feast

7 January – Class IV

Still Christmastide... But not the Octave of the Epiphany!

8 January

Not the third day of the Octave

St Wulsin OSB

9 January 

Not the fourth day within the Octave

Monastic saints of interest:

SS Julian and Basilissa

10 January 

St Paul the first hermit, confessor (memorial)




Pre 1960: Not the fifth day in the Octave of the Epiphany

Monastic saints of note:

St Peter Orseleo OSB

St Gregory of Nyssa  (Benedictine Confederation 1975 calendar)

11 January 

Pre-1960: Not the sixth day in the Octave of the Epiphany

12 January

Monastic saints of note:

St Benedict Biscop OSB - English Congregation



St Margaret Bourgeoys (Canada)

13 January

Commemoration of the Baptism of Our Lord Class II

14 January

St Hilary of Poitiers, bishop and doctor (Memorial)

St Felix Nola (memorial)

15 January 

Pre-1960/in some places: St Maurus

Our Lady of Prompt Succor (in some places)

SS Maurus and Placid, disciples of St Benedict (Benedictine Confederation 1975 calendar; 5 October in the 1962 calendar)

16 January 

St Marcellus I (Memorial)

Monastic saints of note:

St Honorius of Fondi


17 January 



St Antony, abbot (Cl III)

18 January 

Pre-1960: St Prisca

19 January 

SS Marius, Martha, Audifax and Abachum, martyrs (Memorial)

St Wulfstan OSB (wiki) (English Congregation)

20 January 

St Fabian (Pope) and St Sebastian, martyrs Cl III

21 January

St Agnes virgin and martyr  (Class II/III)

St Meinrad OSB (in some places)

22 January 

St Vincent of Saragosa (memorial) and St Anastasius

St Peter's Chair (in some places)

23 January 

St Emerenthiana (memorial)

24 January 

St Timothy, bishop & martyr (Memorial)

25 January 

Conversion of St Paul (Class III)

From the martyrology: St Poppo OSB

26 January 

St Polycarp, bishop and martyr (Memorial)

St Bathildis (wiki), Queen of France (Le Barroux)

From the martyrology: St Paula

St. Robert, St. Alberic and St. Stephen, Abbots of Citeaux (New Clairvaux website) - Optional Memorial (Benedictine Confederation 1975 calendar)

27 January 

St John Chrysostom, bishop, confessor & doctor Matins reading on the saint Cl III

28 January 

St Cyril of Alexandria, bishop, confessor, doctor Matins reading (Memorial)

29 January

St Frances de Sales, bishop, confessor, doctor Matins reading (Roman Office) (Memorial)

30 January 

St Adelgundis OSB 

Blessed Columba Marmion OSB

31 January

St John Bosco (memorial)

St Alban Roe OSB, priest and martyr  (English Congregation)

Happy Christmas!

May you have a happy and holy Christmas!