What is the difference between a Solemnity, Feast and Memorial

What is the difference between a Solemnity, Feast and Memorial

Solemnities are the celebrations of the greatest importance in the Church’s Liturgical calendar. Each Solemnity begins on the previous evening with Evening prayer of the Church and some of the Solemnities have their own Vigil Mass. Both the Gloria and the Creed are recited on Solemnities. Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation are observed as Solemnities.

Feasts in the Church’s Liturgical calendar follow Solemnities as next in importance and are celebrated on a specific day.  These feasts unlike the Solemnities do not have Evening Prayer of the Church or Vigil Mass on the previous 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 on the 2^nd of February has its own Evening Prayer. On these days, the Gloria is recited but not the Creed.

The next in importance are the Memorials, which can be either obligatory or optional.  Memorials commemorate the Saints.  Obligatory memorials have to be observed whereas the optional memorials do not.  Only the Memorials of the Saints of “universal significance” are observed by the whole Church. Local churches, religious communities celebrate the Memorials of Saints of special significance to them.

The celebration of Memorials is also governed by the Liturgical season.  For instance, obligatory Memorials occurring in Lent are only celebrated as Optional Memorials.

On Saturdays, when there is no Obligatory Memorial, it has been the tradition to celebrate a Votive Mass of Our Blessed Lady.

The National Conference of Catholic Bishops publishes an annual Ordo which outlines the proper celebrations and their particulars throughout the liturgical year.