Events in October 2026
Our Calendar is meant to highlight Solemnities, Feast Days and Memorials as well as certain local events. It can be a bit confusing, since the term “Solemnity”, “Feast Day” and “Memorial” are sometimes just listed as “Feast Days”.
Solemnities: the most important celebrations in the liturgical calendar, commemorating key events in the life of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and significant saints. Examples include Christmas, Easter, and the Feast of All Saints.
On solemnities, the Gloria and Creed are recited during Mass. They often have their own specific prayers and may include a Vigil Mass the evening before. Solemnities are celebrated with great liturgical magnificence and may replace the Sunday liturgy if they fall on a Sunday such as Christmas, Easter
Feasts: of second importance in our liturgical calendar, they are celebrated on a particular day. These feasts do not have a first vespers or Vigil Mass the prior evening. An exception would be the feasts of the Lord which occur on Sundays in Ordinary Time and Sundays in the Christmas season. For example, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord (February 2) has its own first vespers. On these days, the Gloria is recited but not the Creed.
Memorials: Next in line are memorials, which are classified as either obligatory or optional. Memorials commemorate a saint or saints. Obligatory memorials must be observed whereas optional memorials do not have to be observed. For example, the memorial of St. John Bosco (January 31) is obligatory while the memorial of St. Blaise (February 3) is optional. Only the memorials of those saints who are of “universal significance” are observed by the whole Church and marked in the general liturgical calendar.
You will often find “Feast Day” and “Memorial” used as identical terms….in fact, we often do that ourselves! And, we suppose it really does not make much difference to most people.
Optional memorials: days on which the faithful and priests have the freedom to choose whether they wish to celebrate the memorial on that day.
The total number can vary slightly by country, diocese, or religious order because local calendars add their own celebrations