CALENDAR OF THE ROMAN CHURCH, THE GENERAL, is often referred to as ”of the Universal Church,” but in fact not used by Catholics of Eastern rites,nor by some religious orders. In accordance with its name it originated in the calendar of the local Roman church, and in sequence contains a large number of feasts of native Roman saints, particularly of early martyrs; but in the past 350 years it been greatly extended and altered and now merits the epithet, universal: 20 or more feasts are of saints whom we should now call of Eastern rite, and its most recent addition died only in the 20 Century.

Since the 16th century this calendar is used in all diocese and congregations (except a few which have their own proper calendars) of the Western church, modified according to local requirements but in such a way that all the great feasts, of our Lord, our Lady, the principal saints and martyrs, etc., are celebrated on the same day.

But a religious order with a large number of saints and beati will have a corresponding proportion of feasts peculiar to itself, e.g., the Dominicans have about 70 such in the course of the year; a new and radically reformed calendar was approved for the Benedictines in 1915. The archdiocese of Westminster has over 30 special feasts of saints, some of which are fairly general in England but all are nearly unknown elsewhere.

The same variation takes place in the ranks of feasts; e.g., David (March 1) is of the highest rank in Wales, a double feast only in Birmingham, and not observed at all in Liverpool. Ireland and Scotland have both a number of local saints who do not appear in other calendars. When a church calendar is printed, as such, without explanation it is usually the general calendar of the Roman church, and to be of any practical use must be checked by and made to agree with the local ordo.