I. On Holiness in the Economy of Salvation
The universal call of mankind to holiness
1. God the Father wills that all human beings, created in the divine image (cf. Gn 1:26-27), be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (cf. 1 Tim 2:4), which is the Lord Jesus Christ, the way of mankind to the Father (cf. Jn 14:6). All, therefore, and in the first place the faithful of every state and order, are called to the fullness of Christian life and the perfection of charity; and by this holiness a more human manner of living is fostered even in earthly society.
2. Indeed, God the Father, restoring all things in Christ (cf. Eph 1:10), has made manifest his will, namely the sanctification of mankind (cf. 1 Thess 4:3); which, through Christ, with Christ, and in Christ, grows day by day ever more in the life of the faithful, unto the greater glory of the one and undivided Trinity and unto the more abundant holiness of the Church.
3. He himself, since he is Holy (cf. 1 Pt 1:16), in order that all might become one in Christ Jesus, rescued them from the power of darkness and transferred them into the kingdom of the Son of his love (cf. Jn 11:51-52), and unites them in his holiness and by the power of the Holy Spirit, unto the praise of the glory of his grace (cf. Eph 1:6,12).
Holiness in the mystery of Christ
4. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Master and exemplar, who together with the Father and the Spirit is celebrated as “the only Holy One,” and is the fount of all holiness and the origin of the virtues, preached holiness of life — since he himself is its author and consummator — to each and all of his disciples: “Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48). In the very mystery of the Father, which is Christ, the Holy Spirit confirms the faithful in baptism and impels them to the appointed contest, that they may obtain the unfading crown of glory (cf. 2 Tim 4:7-8; 1 Cor 9:25; Rev 2:10) in the communion of all the Saints. The faithful themselves in Christ Jesus, according to his admonition — “If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Mt 16:24; cf. Mk 8:34; Jn 12:26) — strive to be imitators of this same Savior, so that, sustained by faith, hope, and charity, through the brethren already living in Christ they may find ways of fulfilling the mysteries of salvation, may be stirred by their outstanding example, and may be perpetually commended by their devout intercession.
Holiness in the life of the Church
5. God the Father, moreover, by the wondrous confession of the Saints makes his Church ever fruitful with new power and offers the faithful most sure tokens of his love. Christ the Lord, too, loves the Church as his bride, for whom he gave himself up, that he might sanctify her (cf. Eph 5:25-26), and he joined her to himself as his Body and filled her with the gift of holiness, unto the glory of God. The Holy Spirit gives life to this same Body of Christ, that it may receive holiness from him, and with him make resplendent the kingdom of truth and life — that is, the kingdom of holiness and grace, the kingdom of justice, love, and peace; in him all the faithful are established from the slavery of corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God (cf. Rom 8:21).
6. The Church, therefore, is at once holy and always in need of purification; yet all are called to her in Christ, and in her, by the grace of almighty God, they enjoy the fellowship of the Saints, until the glorious communion of those same Saints in Christ is brought to completion at the end of time. The Church herself, Mother of the Saints, ever diligently takes care that the faithful foster the call to holiness and attain to it. Especially in the circumstances of this present time of the new evangelization, it is of the greatest moment that the whole pastoral journey be set within holiness itself, which must be understood not as an extraordinary way for some few only, but as the intent of all the faithful toward the fullness of Christian life and the perfection of charity.
II. On the Memory or Veneration of the Saints
The memorial of Christ’s life in the life of the Saints
7. The most merciful Father, who through the Son of his love is — even as he is the creator of the human race — likewise its most kindly restorer, with the help of the Holy Spirit bestows upon each of the faithful, by the Saints’ manner of life an example, by their communion a fellowship, and by their intercession a help.
8. The Church, moreover, confesses the Trinity as wondrous in the Saints themselves, who lay open to all people the living presence of the Savior in the world and the genuine nature of the Church herself, since they are images of the divine holiness, from which spring forth those works of the Saints which are at the same time a manifestation of the wonders of Christ.
9. For every liturgical commemoration of the Saints set forth in the life of the Church by its very nature tends toward Christ and terminates in him, who is “the crown of all the Saints,” and through him, with the Holy Spirit accompanying, toward the Father, who is wondrous in his Saints and is magnified in them (cf. 2 Thess 1:10).
10. The life of the Saints, through the course of time, shines forth in this age as it were a continuation or memorial of the life of Christ, displaying the glory of his resurrection; and, set in the glory of the heavenly ones and differing as one star differs from another in brightness (cf. 1 Cor 15:40-41), it is held out to the faithful: “all things pass away, but the glory of the Saints endures in Christ, who makes all things new while he himself remains.”
11. Accordingly, the liturgical memorial of the Saints rests not only on this, that their examples be set before all the faithful for imitation, but still more that the unity of the whole Church in the Spirit be strengthened (cf. Eph 4:1-6). For just as Christian communion among the pilgrims brings us nearer to Christ, so fellowship with the Saints joins us to Christ, from whom, as from a fount and head, flow all grace and the very life of the People of God.
12. For this reason, the day of the Saints’ passing from this life to eternal fellowship is upheld by the life of Christ, namely by his Paschal Mystery, and is rightly named, and is their “birthday” (dies natalis), commemorated by custom in the sacred liturgy.
The veneration of the Saints
13. The pilgrim Church, from the earliest times of her life, has celebrated the Apostles and martyrs of Christ, who by the shedding of their blood, in imitation of the Savior suffering upon the Cross, in the hope of resurrection gave the supreme testimony of faith and charity (cf. Rev 22:14).
14. Thereafter the Saints are venerated in the Church according to genuine tradition; among whom the Blessed Mary ever Virgin, Mother of God, whom Christ established as Mother of all people, is commended to the special and filial veneration of the faithful, and she promotes the true and authentic veneration of the other Saints.
15. In public worship it is permitted to venerate only those servants of God who, by the authority of the Church, have been entered into the roll of the Saints or the Blessed. Their authentic relics, and likewise their images, are held in veneration, inasmuch as the veneration of the Saints in the Church proclaims the wonders of Christ in his servants and offers the faithful fitting examples for imitation.
16. As regards the holy Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the Guardian Angels, and the countless hosts of Angels who stand before almighty God, that they may serve him day and night, unceasingly contemplating the glory of the face of God, and whose names are known by him alone — to these let there be given only that veneration which is admitted by the liturgical books or by the genuine tradition of the Church.
The communion of the Saints exercised in the Liturgy
17. In the sacred Liturgy the whole Church together celebrates the praise of the divine majesty with shared exultation. For all who belong to Christ, having his Spirit, grow together into one Church and cohere with one another in him (cf. Eph 4:16).
18. From this it follows that the heavenly ones are more intimately united with Christ, more firmly consolidate the whole Church in holiness, ennoble the worship which she offers to God here on earth, and contribute in manifold ways to her fuller building up. The faithful, imitating them, while on the journey to the Father they follow in the footsteps of Christ, ever strive to help one another. Contemplating their life in Christ, they seek light also for searching into the mysteries of God. For in the life of the Saints, who, sharers of our humanity, are nonetheless more perfectly transformed into the image of Christ (cf. 2 Cor 3:18), God vividly manifests to mankind his presence and his countenance. In them he himself speaks to us and offers us a sign of his Kingdom. This appears in a special way in those saints who, endowed with the particular gifts of the Holy Spirit, shone forth in excellence not only of life but also of doctrine. This, moreover, is to be considered not solely of theological knowledge, but also of that “science of love” which is derived from the illumination of the Holy Spirit through the experience of the mysteries of God.
19. By the intercession of the Saints, in Christ the eternal and high priest (cf. Heb 3:1; 4:14; 5:6; 7:26; 9:11), the mediator of God and men (cf. 1 Tim 2:5), communion in the Church grows day by day ever more, whenever the liturgical celebration is carried out. This happens especially in the celebration of the Eucharist, where, giving thanks in a preeminent manner, the whole Church is joined, communicating with the heavenly ones and venerating the memory of all the Saints; and in the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours, in which the praise of the Most Holy Trinity through his Saints never ceases.
III. On the Roman Martyrology
The character and liturgical nature of the Martyrology
20. In the course of the centuries, among the books for liturgical celebrations directed to rendering due worship, as is fitting, to the Most Holy Trinity, the Martyrology has been reckoned, whose liturgical nature has gradually shone forth more clearly day by day.
21. The relationships between the most ancient liturgical Calendars and the Martyrology — with fitting practical indications added of the mutual connections between them and of the celebrations of the divine mysteries — gradually increased up to the present character, in which the purpose and the chiefly liturgical use are evident.
The revision of the Martyrology
22. As the centuries went on, the Martyrology was renewed many times; and most recently its revision by the decree of the Most Sacred Ecumenical Second Vatican Council, together with the promulgation of the other revised liturgical books, makes it urgent that the Martyrology itself, with due historical investigation undertaken beforehand, should once again fittingly accord with the other books of the Roman Rite.
23. The list, however, of Saints and also of the Blessed in the Martyrology, since it concerns those Saints and Blessed spoken of above in no. 15, by long-established and customary tradition corresponds to the course of the civil year, from the month of January through to December, as in the Roman Calendar — although it by no means makes light of the course of the liturgical year.
The relationship of the Martyrology with the other liturgical books
24. Liturgical celebration, as the manifestation and actualization of the Church’s love for her Spouse Jesus Christ, whose whole mystery she unfolds and commemorates as the year advances, also relates to the veneration of the Saints. For the Saints, through the manifold grace of God, advanced to perfection and having already attained eternal salvation, sing to God in heaven a perfect praise and intercede especially for the faithful, indeed also for all people. Accordingly, the mystery of Christ and the veneration of the Saints so grow together mutually that in the liturgy of the Church there exist relationships between the Martyrology and the other liturgical books for the celebration of the mystery of Christ, in which the Saints too are found.
25. For this reason the Church, lest the festivities of the Saints should prevail over the celebrations that commemorate the mysteries of salvation themselves, provides, together with the list of Saints and Blessed, also the liturgical norms by virtue of which their memorials may be celebrated on the appointed days.
26. For it is established that, besides the solemnities or feasts of the Saints and the obligatory memorials, on weekdays which admit the celebration of an optional memorial, for a just cause there may be celebrated, in the same degree, the office and Mass of any Saint inscribed on that day in this Roman Martyrology or in a Proper — that is, in a duly approved proper Appendix of the Roman Rite.
The list of Saints and Blessed in the Martyrology
27. The Roman Martyrology, which is to be regarded as a liturgical book, has as its purpose neither to provide an exhaustive list of all the Saints and Blessed, nor lengthy accounts of them, from which there might be drawn either a treatise of ascetical edification or a history of the Church as the family of the Saints and the holy nation acquired by God (cf. 1 Pet 2:9; 1 Thess 5:9-10; 2 Thess 2:13).
28. The Martyrology, rather, sets forth a list of memorials — first indeed of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, then of the Angels, and finally of the faithful who are present in the worship of the Church, whether universal or particular and of any religious family, in present times — but not a complete catalogue of all who enjoy the most blessed and eternal vision of God.
29. For these reasons, the Roman Martyrology sets forth the Saints inscribed in the Roman Calendar, since they bear a universal importance in the whole Church of the Roman Rite, as well as many, but not all, of those who are commended to a particular Church or religious family and are commemorated in any liturgical degree. This particular or local status of the commemorations of the more ancient Saints and of all the Blessed, from the Middle Ages up to the present times, is indicated by an asterisk (*) next to the number which designates the chronological order of the Saints and Blessed on a given day.
IV. On the Uses of the Martyrology
The celebration of Saints or Blessed
30. As was stated above in no. 26, the Mass or even the Office of any Saint inscribed in the Roman Martyrology or in a duly approved Proper of the Martyrology may be celebrated, for a just cause, on the day on which his name is inserted, on those weekdays on which the celebration of an optional memorial is admitted.
31. A celebration of this kind of any Blessed inscribed in the Martyrology or in a duly approved Proper of the Martyrology is reserved to the diocese, nation, or wider territory, or religious family, to which it has been granted by the Apostolic See.
32. It is necessary that every diocese or religious family have its own Proper Calendar, and that the individual Conferences of Bishops draw up Proper Calendars, each for its own nation, or, together with other Conferences, a Calendar of a wider territory; all of which must be duly brought into accord with the Roman Martyrology and submitted to the Apostolic See for approval or confirmation.
33. But if the birthday (dies natalis) of any Saint or Blessed indicated in the Martyrology is each year impeded by another celebration of a higher degree, that Saint or Blessed may be commemorated in the Proper Calendars on the nearest free day or, if the case warrants, on another day proper to him for some reason — as, for example, the day of the finding, elevation, or translation of the body, or even the day of canonization or beatification, which last, however, is by custom to be reckoned less suitable. And if this be the case, in the reading of the Martyrology, in its proper place, let one or another of the formulas proposed below, p. 30, no. 12, be used.
34. Any Saint inscribed in the Roman Martyrology may be chosen as the title of a church. But if it be a question of a Blessed, an indult must be sought from the Apostolic See, unless that Blessed has already been duly inscribed in the Calendar of the diocese or nation.
The reading of the Martyrology
35. The elogia of the Saints of any day are always read on the preceding day.
36. The reading of the Martyrology is laudably done in choir, but it may also be carried out outside of choir.
37. In reading the Martyrology, let the order be observed which is found below.
V. On the Propers of the Martyrology
38. It is permitted to every diocese, nation, or religious family to draw up a Proper of the Martyrology, or an Appendix of the Martyrology, in which there are set forth the Saints and Blessed inscribed in the Proper Calendar who are absent from the Roman Martyrology, or are celebrated on a different day, or are observed in another degree of celebration, or whose elogium it has seemed fitting to amplify somewhat. A Proper of this kind is to be transmitted to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments to obtain review and approval or confirmation.
39. Such amplified elogia, however, are not to be composed merely after the manner of the literary genre of “Lives” or “Legends,” but, as far as can be done, are to make manifest the paschal victory of Christ in his servants and to show the faithful the distinctive grace bestowed on each. Moreover, historical truth is always to be strictly preserved, and homiletic or “edifying” elements are not to be admitted. Furthermore, the elogia should not exceed about forty words.
VI. On the Adaptations That Pertain to the Conferences of Bishops
40. It belongs to the Conferences of Bishops to prepare translations of the Roman Martyrology into the vernacular languages, with completeness and fidelity exactly preserved and with attention to the particular characteristics of the literary genre.
41. It is fitting that, in publishing the Martyrology, the elogia of any day which are to be reckoned proper to the whole nation or territory by concession of the Holy See be placed in the first position after the elogia which pertain to the celebrations inscribed in the General Calendar, and be printed in the same type. But those elogia which are proper to a region or diocese should always have their place in a particular Appendix. The text, moreover, of any edition of a Conference of Bishops is to be approved according to the norm of law and submitted to the Apostolic See for review. This holds, with the necessary changes, for any religious family.
42. In preparing editions, a clear distinction must be made between translations of the Roman Martyrology, which must be complete, and partial collections which, excerpted from the Roman Martyrology for pastoral use, are not to be destined for liturgical use.