Patronal Feast Taking Precedence Over an Ordinary-Time Sunday
  • EvaS
    Posts: 19
    Quick Question: The patronal feast is a Solemnity and therefore outranks a Sunday in Ordinary Time. I've always thought that, when the patronal feast is celebrated on a Sunday, all presidential prayers, readings, and sung propers can be taken from the feast day and not the Sundays. Am I correct? Is it permissible to mix and match two sets of propers and readings? I am second-guessing myself after a recent conversation with someone knowledgeable.
  • Jeffrey Quick
    Posts: 2,086
    That's my understanding.
    "On Sunday, there is no commemoration of a feast of an inferior class"- FSSP Ordo
  • GerardH
    Posts: 461
    In the General Norms of the Liturgical Year, the Solemnity of the Title of one's own church is ranked no. 4 and Sundays in Ordinary Time no. 6 in the table of liturgical precedence, so it replaces the Sunday liturgy completely.

    In fact, it is even possible to celebrate the patronal solemnity on the nearest (?) Ordinary Sunday if it occurs during the week.
    58. For the pastoral good of the faithful, it is permitted to observe on Sundays in Ordinary Time those celebrations that fall during the week and that are agreeable to the devotion of the faithful, provided the celebrations rank above that Sunday in the Table of Liturgical Days. The Mass of such celebrations may be used at all the celebrations of Mass at which the people are present.

    Edited to add: this is the descendent of "External Solemnities" in the earlier missals
  • Andrew_Malton
    Posts: 1,187
    In the Novus rite, as GerardH says, the feast of Title takes precedence if it occurs on an ordinary Sunday. Everything must be as assigned for the Solemnity. Thus the readings (including the psalm) and presidential prayers must be (not just “can be”) those of the feast day and not of the Sunday. In my experience this is often not followed.

    The “sung propers”, though assigned in the Ordo Missæ in Cantu, are not obligatory, and can as usual be replaced by other suitable songs, as per GiRM #48.

    If the feast day is “observed”, as in GNLY #58 above, there is still no mix and match, although the Sunday Mass can also be said on that day.
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