| DIES | 12 Sun | 13 Mon | 14 Tue | 15 Wed | 16 Thu | 17 Fri | 18 Sat | 19 Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Officium | Dominica XVIII Post Pentecosten | S. Eduardi Regis Confessoris | S. Callisti Papæ et Martyris | S. Teresiæ Virginis | S. Margaritæ Mariæ Alaquoque Virginis | S. Hedwigis Viduæ | S. Lucæ Evangelistæ | S. Petri de Alcantara Confessoris |
| Classis | Dominica minor | Semiduplex | Duplex | Duplex | Duplex | Duplex | Duplex II | Duplex |
| Color* | Viridis | Albus | Rubeum | Albus | Albus | Albus | Albus | Albus |
| Missa | Da pacem | Os justi | Státuit ei | Dilexísti | Sub umbra | Cognóvi | Mihi autem | Justus |
| Orationes | 2a. A cunctis 3a. ad libitum | 2a. A cunctis 3a. ad libitum | 2a. UK: In oct. S. Eduardi Regis | 2a. UK: In oct. S. Eduardi Regis | NA | 2a. UK: In oct. S. Eduardi Regis | NA | 2a. Dominica XIX Post Pentecosten 3a. UK: In oct. S. Eduardi Regis |
| Notae | Gl. Cr. Pref. de Trinitate | Gl. Pref. de Communis | Gl. Pref. de Communis | Gl. Pref. de Communis | Gl. Pref. de Communis | Gl. Pref. de Communis | Gl. Cr. Pref. de Apostolis | Gl. Cr. Pref. de Trinitate Ev. Propr. ad fin.Missae |
| Nota Bene/Vel/Votiva | UK: S. Wilfridi, Ebor (A) “Sacerdotes tui” 2a. Dom XVIII Ev. Propr. ad fin.Missae | UK: S. Eduardi Regis (dm) Confessoris “Os justi” | EU: S. Gallus Confessoris (d) “Os justi” 2a. UK In oct. S. Eduardi Regis |
SUNDAY
October 12 — St. Wilfrid, Bishop and Confessor
St. Wilfrid of York (c. 634–709) was one of the great architects of English Christianity. A disciple of St. Aidan and later educated at Lindisfarne and Canterbury, he championed the Roman liturgical observances at the Synod of Whitby (664), ensuring the unity of English Christianity with the See of Peter. After years of missionary zeal and trials—including exile, imprisonment, and appeal to Rome—he died as Bishop of Hexham. The Old Roman Apostolate venerates him especially as founder of the ancient See of Selsey, of which the present Archbishop of Selsey is his successor. His disciple St. Wilibrord became the Apostle of Frisia, extending Wilfrid’s legacy of evangelisation across Europe.¹
October 13 — St. Edward the Confessor, King
King Edward the Confessor (1003–1066) embodied Christian kingship at its finest. Renowned for his piety, chastity, and justice, he ruled England with peace and generosity, building Westminster Abbey as a house of God and burial place for kings. Canonised in 1161, he became patron of the English monarchy and an enduring model of sanctity in power. His reign, marked by reconciliation and reform, stands as a testament that temporal authority is rightly ordered only when subordinate to divine law. In the traditional English calendar, his feast is celebrated as a major double with a commemorative octave, reflecting his pre-eminent place among England’s royal saints.²
October 14 — St. Callistus I, Pope and Martyr
A former slave who rose to become Bishop of Rome (217–222), St. Callistus I endured persecution and martyrdom for the faith. His papacy is notable for asserting the Church’s power to forgive even the gravest sins—an essential affirmation of divine mercy against rigorist heresies. He died defending the sanctity of Christian burial grounds he had consecrated along the Appian Way, which bear his name to this day: the Catacombs of St. Callistus.³
October 15 — St. Teresa of Avila, Virgin and Doctor of the Church
St. Teresa (1515–1582), the reformer of Carmel and first female Doctor of the Church, renewed religious life through her insistence on contemplative prayer and interior conversion. Her mystical writings—The Interior Castle and The Way of Perfection—remain among the most profound explorations of the soul’s union with God. In her teaching, the perfection of love is inseparable from obedience to the Church and humility before the Cross.⁴
October 16 — St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, Virgin; in England, St. Gall, Abbot
Through St. Margaret Mary (1647–1690), a Visitation nun at Paray-le-Monial, Our Lord revealed the devotion to His Sacred Heart—an outpouring of divine love wounded by indifference and sin. Her fidelity amid ridicule and suffering made possible one of the Church’s greatest devotions, calling the faithful to reparation, adoration, and Eucharistic intimacy. Her message remains urgent in an age cold to divine charity.⁵
In parts of northern Europe, the feast of St. Gall (c. 550–646), an Irish missionary and disciple of St. Columban, is also observed on this day. After years of evangelising among the Alemanni, Gall withdrew to the forests near Lake Constance, where he lived as a hermit. The monastery that grew around his cell became the famed Abbey of St. Gall, a centre of learning and liturgy that preserved Christian civilisation through the Dark Ages. His memory links the monastic mission of the Celtic saints with the enduring spirit of Christian Europe.⁶
October 17 — St. Hedwig, Widow
Duchess of Silesia and wife of Duke Henry I the Bearded, St. Hedwig (1174–1243) exemplified Christian charity and detachment. After her husband’s death, she retired to a Cistercian convent she had founded at Trebnitz, where her daughter Gertrude was abbess. Her life was marked by prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, especially toward the poor and sick. She shows that sanctity can flourish in both court and cloister when the heart is conformed to Christ.⁷
October 18 — St. Luke the Evangelist
St. Luke, companion of St. Paul and author of both the Third Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles, was a physician, historian, and painter of divine mercy. His Gospel uniquely portrays the tenderness of Christ and the dignity of the poor, women, and penitents. Tradition holds that he painted the first icon of Our Lady, thereby linking art to evangelisation. His example reminds the Church that beauty and truth together bear witness to the Incarnate Word.⁸
Footnotes
¹ Bede, Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum, V.19–24.
² William of Malmesbury, Vita Sancti Edwardi Regis et Confessoris, ed. Luard, Rolls Series, 1884.
³ Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies, IX.12–14.
⁴ St. Teresa of Avila, The Interior Castle, trans. Peers (London, 1946).
⁵ St. Margaret Mary, Autobiography and Letters, trans. M. Thibault (London, 1920).
⁶ Jonas of Bobbio, Vita Columbani et Discipulorum Eius, ch. 49–57.
⁷ Acta Sanctorum, Octobris, Vol. VII, “Sancta Hedwigis.”
⁸ Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, III.4; St. Irenaeus, Against Heresies, III.1.
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