CALENDAR
2027
God’s truth, beautifully told. s inc e 1 868
Every figure’s gaze leads us toward the infant Jesus, yet Christ himself looks outward, inviting us into his mystery. There is also a profoundly human side of the painting: wonder, fatigue, reverence and awe are visible in the faces of the travellers. It is a meditation on pilgrimage, reminding us that every new year is an opportunity to journey closer to God.
Pope Leo’s prayer intention That the power of prayer might be discovered. Let us pray that everyone in the Church might discover the power of prayer as a personal encounter with the Lord that transforms our hearts and the world. Longer meditations on each image are at the back of the calendar.
January 2027 sunday
The month of the Holy Name of Jesus
friday
saturday
31
1
2
4th Sunday in Ordinary Time Mk 1:21-28 Psalter week IV St John Bosco, priest
SOLEMNITY OF MARY, THE HOLY MOTHER OF GOD CHRISTMAS OCTAVE Luke 2:16-21 New Year’s Day, Bank Holiday First Friday
SS Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, bishops and doctors of the Church First Saturday
3
SECOND SUNDAY OF CHRISTMAS (except Scotland) Jn 1:1-18 EPIPHANY OF THE LORD (Scotland only), Mt 2:1-12 Psalter week II Most Holy Name of Jesus St Munchin, bishop (Ireland)
10
monday
4
tuesday
thursday
6
7
8
9
EPIPHANY OF THE LORD (except Scotland), Mt 2:1-12
St Raymond of Penyafort, priest Thursday after Epiphany
Friday after Epiphany
Saturday after Epiphany
12
13
14
15
16
St Ita, virgin (Ireland)
St Fursa, abbot and missionary (Ireland)
23
5
Bank Holiday (Scotland only)
11
wednesday
BAPTISM OF THE LORD, Mk 1:7-11
Psalter week I
St Aelred of Rievaulx (England)
St Hilary, bishop and doctor of the Church ST KENTIGERN, BISHOP (Scotland)
17
18
19
20
21
22
2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Jn 1:35-42 Psalter week II Peace Day St Anthony, abbot
Octave of prayer for Christian Unity begins
St Wulstan, bishop (England)
St Fabian, pope and martyr St Sebastian, martyr
St Agnes, virgin and martyr
St Vincent, deacon and martyr
24
25
26
27
28
29
3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Mk 1:14-20 Psalter week III St Francis de Sales, bishop and doctor of the Church Sunday of the Word of God Racial Justice Day
30
St Angela Merici, virgin CONVERSION OF ST PAUL THE APOSTLE
SS Timothy and Titus, bishops
St Thomas Aquinas, priest and doctor of the Church
St Aidan, bishop (Ireland)
It is fitting to mark Mary’s Assumption during this season: it reminds us that human life itself is a pilgrimage toward heaven. Holidays allow us to pause, breathe, lift our eyes from daily pressures and remember our ultimate destination. Mary already stands where the Church hopes one day to follow: fully alive in the presence of God.
Pope Leo’s prayer intention For the vocation of young people. Let us pray that young people in search of their own vocation might recognise in Jesus Christ a companion on the way to whom they can open their hearts.
August 2027
The month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
sunday
monday
tuesday
wednesday
thursday
friday
saturday
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
18th Sunday in Ordinary Time Jn 6:24-35 Psalter week II St Alphonsus Liguori, bishop and doctor of the Church
St Eusebius of Vercelli, bishop St Peter Julian Eymard, priest Bank Holiday (Scotland and Republic of Ireland)
St Sixtus II, pope, and companions, martyrs St Cajetan, priest First Saturday
8
9
St Germanus of Auxerre, bishop (Wales)
St John Vianney, priest
The Dedication of the Basilica of St Mary Major
TRANSFIGURATION OF THE LORD Mk 9:2-10 First Friday
10
11
12
13
14
SS Pontian, pope, and Hippolytus, priest, martyrs St Fachtna, bishop (Ireland)
St Maximilian Mary Kolbe, priest and martyr
19th Sunday in Ordinary Time Jn 6:41-51 Psalter week III St Dominic, priest St Mary of the Cross, virgin (Mary MacKillop)
ST TERESA BENEDICTA OF THE CROSS (EDITH STEIN), VIRGIN AND MARTYR, PATRON OF EUROPE St Nathy, bishop (Ireland) St Felim, bishop (Ireland)
ST LAWRENCE, DEACON AND MARTYR
St Clare, virgin
St Jane Frances de Chantal, religious St Muredach, bishop (Ireland) St Attracta, virgin (Ireland) St Lelia, virgin (Ireland)
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, Lk 1:39-56
St Stephen of Hungary Psalter week IV
Our Lady of Knock (Ireland)
St Helena, empress
St John Eudes, priest
St Bernard, abbot and doctor of the Church
St Pius X, pope
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
St Louis St Joseph Calasanz, priest
Blessed Dominic of the Mother of God, priest (England) St David Lewis, priest and martyr (Wales)
St Monica
St Augustine, bishop and doctor of the Church
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time Jn 6:60-69 Psalter week I The Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary
St Rose of Lima, virgin St Eugene, bishop (Ireland)
ST BARTHOLOMEW, APOSTLE
29
30
31
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Mk 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 Psalter week II The Passion of St John the Baptist
SS Margaret Clitherow, Anne Line and Margaret Ward, martyrs (England) St Fiacre, monk (Ireland) Bank Holiday (UK except Scotland)
St Aidan, bishop, and Saints of Lindisfarne (England and Ireland)
There is a profound idea expressed artistically in the sea of golden halos: heaven is not filled only with famous canonised saints, but with countless holy souls known only to God. The anonymous halos are symbols of hidden sanctity, of ordinary people who lived lives of love, prayer and faithfulness. November reminds us that holiness is not reserved for a few extraordinary figures: we are all called toward heaven. Pope Leo’s prayer intention For the integration of migrants. Let us pray that, accompanied and comforted by the Holy Family on their own journey of being uprooted, migrants and displaced persons might find communities that welcome them with dignity, solidarity, and true integration.
November 2027 sunday
The month of the Holy Souls
monday
tuesday
wednesday
thursday
friday
saturday
1
2
3
4
5
6
ALL SAINTS (Scotland only) Mt 5:1-12a Psalter week III
COMMEMORATION OF ALL THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED (ALL SOULS) Jn 5:24-29
St Martin de Porres, religious St Winifride, virgin (England and Wales) St Malachy, bishop (Ireland)
St Charles Borromeo, bishop
First Friday
ALL THE SAINTS OF IRELAND (Ireland) St Illtud, abbot (Wales) First Saturday
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Mk 12:38-44 Psalter week IV St Willibrord, bishop (England and Ireland)
ALL SAINTS OF WALES (Wales) Blessed John Duns Scotus, priest (Scotland)
DEDICATION OF THE LATERAN BASILICA
St Leo the Great, pope and doctor of the Church
St Martin of Tours, bishop
St Josaphat, bishop and martyr
14
15
16
17
18
19
33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Mk 13:24-32 Psalter week I St Dyfrig, bishop (Wales) St Laurence O’Toole, bishop (Ire.) World Day of the Poor Remembrance Day
St Albert the Great, bishop and doctor of the Church
ST MARGARET, SECONDARY PATRON OF SCOTLAND (Feast only in Scotland) St Gertrude, virgin St Edmund of Abingdon, bishop (England)
St Elizabeth of Hungary, religious St Hilda, religious (England) St Hugh of Lincoln, bishop (England)
The Dedication of the Basilicas of SS Peter and Paul, apostles
21
22
23
24
25
OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, KING OF THE UNIVERSE Jn 18:33b-37 The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Youth Day
St Cecilia, virgin and martyr Psalter week II
St Clement I, pope and martyr St Columban, abbot and missionary
St Andrew Dũng-L ac, . priest, and companions, martyrs
St Catherine of Alexandria, virgin and martyr St Colman, bishop (Ireland)
28
29
30
1st Sunday of Advent Lk 21:25-28, 34-36 Psalter week I St Catherine Labouré
ST ANDREW, APOSTLE AND MARTYR, PATRON OF SCOTLAND (Solemnity only in Scotland) Mt 4:18-22 Bank Holiday (Scotland only)
20 St Edmund, king and martyr
26
27 St Fergal, bishop and missionary (Ireland)
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January: The Adoration of the Kings (Monforte Altar)
February: The Presentation at the Temple by Giovanni Bellini (1430-1516), Fondazione Querini Stampalia, Venice. Wikimedia Commons.
by Hugo van der Goes (1440-1482), Gemäldegalerie, Berlin. Wikimedia Commons.
The feast of Epiphany captures the spirit of a new year: humanity setting out in search of divine light. Hugo van der Goes’s monumental work, painted c.1470, depicts the Three Kings adoring the Christ Child amidst ruined architecture, symbolising the passing of the old world and the birth of a new kingdom. The richly dressed Magi come from different nations, and different ages (older, middle-aged, younger) representing all humanity drawn toward Christ. Van der Goes fills the scene with remarkable detail: shimmering fabrics, jewels and plants, all rendered with extraordinary realism. The painting belongs to the great flowering of early Flemish oil painting, then a revolutionary new medium that could create subtle light effects, rich colours and minute textures with unprecedented depth and delicacy.
Every figure’s gaze leads us toward the infant Jesus, yet Christ himself looks outward toward the viewer, inviting us into his mystery. There is also something profoundly human in the painting: wonder, fatigue, reverence and awe are visible across the faces of the travellers, forming a meditation on pilgrimage, reminding us that every new year is an opportunity to journey closer to God.
In February we look at the Presentation at the Temple by Giovanni Bellini because the month begins with Candlemas, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. St Luke’s Gospel tells how Mary and Joseph bring the infant Jesus to the Temple forty days after his birth, where the aged Simeon recognises him as the promised Messiah and calls him “a light for revelation to the Gentiles.” This gives us the tradition of Candlemas when candles are blessed and carried in procession to represent Christ’s divine light.
Bellini captures the scene with tenderness. The figures are close together, inviting us into this intimate moment of recognition and prayer. Simeon reverently receives the Christ Child while Mary watches quietly, already marked by the shadow of Simeon’s prophecy that sorrow will pierce her soul. The painting also gently prepares us for Lent, which begins later in February. Beneath its serenity lies a hint of sacrifice and suffering: Mary’s expression carries a quiet sadness. Bellini’s contemplative scene is more than a tender family moment; it draws us into a spirit of reflection to take forward on the long road toward Easter.
March: Crucifixion
April: The Annunciation
by Andrea Mantegna (1431–1506), The Louvre Museum, Paris. Wikimedia Commons.
by Fra Angelico (1395-1455), Convent of San Marco, Florence. Wikimedia Commons.
March is marked almost entirely by the Lenten journey toward Calvary. Fittingly, we look at The Crucifixion by Andrea Mantegna, painted c1457–1459. Christ is at the centre between the two thieves, yet Mantegna makes a profound distinction between them: the thieves are bound tightly to their crosses, while Christ stretches out his arms freely and openly, as though embracing the whole world. Christ is not simply a victim of execution; he willingly offers himself in love. The barren stony ground beneath the crosses speaks of starkness and spiritual desolation.
At the foot of the cross, Roman soldiers gamble casually for Christ’s garments, blind to the sacred mystery unfolding above them. Nearby stand the grieving women, including the Virgin Mary, almost crushed by sorrow; Jerusalem rises silently in the background. Through these contrasting figures, Mantegna evokes the spiritual atmosphere of Lent - some figures are distracted and spiritually asleep, others remain faithful and present beneath the Cross - and he invites us to ask where we ourselves stand. Even here, in the darkness of Calvary, Mantegna’s use of strong colours implies that love is stronger than death and that the Cross already points toward Easter morning.
April begins with one of the most beautiful feasts of the Christian year: the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she is to become the Mother of Christ. Fra Angelico’s Annunciation, painted between 1440 and 1445 in the Dominican convent of San Marco in Florence is one of the most stunning depictions. Fra Angelico was not only a painter, but also a Dominican friar, and his frescoes were created specifically for the meditation and prayer of his brethren. Each monk passing through the corridor would encounter this sacred scene daily, a gentle visual invitation into contemplation.
The painting itself is filled with extraordinary stillness. Gabriel bows reverently before Mary, while Mary folds her arms across her chest in quiet acceptance of God’s will. The architecture is simple and luminous, bathed in soft morning light. Nothing appears dramatic, yet everything changed in this moment. Heaven touched earth through Mary’s humble “yes.” Fra Angelico understood that holiness often enters the world quietly. This fresco invites us this springtime to rediscover the beauty of prayerful silence and openness to God’s voice in our own lives.
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