Roman Catholic Churches

Practice of the church year, which has developed over centuries in the Roman Catholic tradition, underwent major revision as a result of the Second Vatican Council. The changes were designed to recover the primacy of the "paschal mystery" of Christ's death and resurrection in both of the major cycles, the Christological and the sanctoral. Christ's saving work is celebrated in sacred memory by the church on fixed days throughout the year. Each week on the day called the Lord's Day the church commemorates the Lord's resurrection. Once a year at Easter the church honors this resurrection and passion with the utmost solemnity. In fact through the yearly cycle the church unfolds the entire mystery of Christ and keeps the anniversaries of the saints. This statement from the opening of the General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar, which became effective in 1970 under Pope Paul VI, reveals the two primary cycles of the liturgical year in the Roman Catholic tradition: the cycl…