Ranking of liturgical days in the Roman Rite serves two purposes. The rank indicates some particular points about the manner of celebrating the day: for instance, the Mass of a Solemnity will include recitation of Gloria in Excelsis and Creed, that of what is now called in a specific technical sense a Feast will have Gloria but not Creed. and a Memorial will have neither. The other purpose is to determine which Mass is to be said when two feasts coincide (or "occur") on the one day, as well as when a feast falls on a Sunday or certain other privileged days.
Each day in the Catholic liturgical calendar has a rank. The five basic ranks are as follows:
- Solemnity—the highest ranking feast day. It commemorates an event in the life of Jesus or Mary or celebrates a saint important for the Church as a whole or for the local community. The Mass of a solemnity has proper readings, and the Gloria and Creed are recited. Outside of Advent, Lent and Eastertide, if a solemnity falls on a Sunday, it is celebrated in place of the Sunday.
- Feast—the rank of secondary liturgical days including lesser events in the life of Jesus, Mary or an Apostle (theologically speaking) or for major saints.
- Memorial—the commemoration of a saint of lesser importance. Many memorials are optional or only observed in specific dioceses, regions or nations.
- Seasonal Weekday—a weekday in a "strong" liturgical season (Advent, Christmas Season, Lent, Easter Season) on which no solemnity, feast, or memorial is observed.
- Feria or Ferial Weekday—a weekday in ordinary time on which no solemnity, feast or memorial is observed.
Read more about Ranking Of Liturgical Days In The Roman Rite: Feast Days, Sundays, Ferias, Vigils, Octaves
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