medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
My intention had been to let others respond, as I had other plans for this afternoon. Those plans having been altered, I'll attempt (without any pretence to special knowledge in this area) to answer Bernadette's question, drawing on (mostly) calendrical data readily available to all via the Web.
In the version of general Roman Calendar approved in 1955 Remigius of Reims (hereafter, R.) had a Feast (Simple) on 1. October, commemorating his papally ordered translation in 1099 to the abbey church of St-Remi, and Thérèse of Lisieux had a Feast (Double) on 3. October, which I'm guessing is where she was put when she was canonized in 1925. In the version of that calendar approved in 1969 Remigius no longer appears, Thérèse has a Memorial on 1. October, and 3. October is a Feria. Data from:
http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Traditional-Catholic-Calendar
and
http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Roman-Catholic-calendar-of-saints
In the version of the Roman Martyrology current in 1961
http://web2.airmail.net/carlsch/MaterDei/Martyrol/title.htm
Remigius is of course entered under the day of his Feast in the general Roman Calendar, 1. October. In the "new" Roman Martyrology (2001, rev. 2004), which as a matter of convenience is what this list's "saints of the day" ordinarily follows, Remigius is commemorated on 13. January, his traditional _dies natalis_ since Florus of Lyon in the ninth century. Since in the case of saints not appearing on the general Roman Calendar the "new" RM sometimes uses the date of a local feast and since -- as noted in the initial posting in this thread -- the Diocese of Reims-Ardennes (a.k.a the Diocese of Reims) continues to celebrate Remigius liturgically on 1. October, the RM could have continued to commemorate him on that day.
But the "new" RM shows a marked preference for commemorating saints on their _dies natalis_ and this, together with Remigius' removal from the general Roman Calendar, probably accounts for its present commemoration of him on 13. January.
Why was Thérèse of Lisieux moved from 3. October to 1. October? Probably because she died on the night of 30. September/1. October, because (as Marjorie has pointed out), 30. September is taken by St. Jerome, and because there was now (in the revision approved in 1969) a festal vacancy on 1. October that could be used to celebrate her on her _dies natalis_.
Was Remigius removed from the general Roman Calendar in order to create a festal vacancy for Thérèse on her _dies natalis_? That's hard to answer. The revision approved in 1969 removed from that Calendar numerous traditional saints of western Europe (including several early modern ones), thus creating room for recent saints from other parts of the world. Thus Remigius (no longer so important in post-monarchical France) might have been dropped even were there not a modern French saint waiting in the wings for a move to 1. October and were there not another French saint already celebrated in mid-January (Hilary of Poitiers, a Doctor of the Church; formerly a Double on 14. January and as of 1969 an Optional Memorial on Remigius' traditional _dies natalis_ of 13. January). One does get the impression, though, that Remigius may have been squeezed out by Thérèse and Hilary.
Best,
John Dillon
(not waiting for a Bourbon restoration in France to brighten the outlook for R.)
On Sunday, January 13, 2008, at 9:51 am, Marjorie Greene wrote:
> I think John addressed this in years past... But I'll hazard a guess:
> Remi is competing with Th�r�se of Lisieux, BIG in France, and Saint
> Jerome, BIG period. In fact, I think T was moved from her death date
> to 1 Oct b/c of Jerome. It's also the case that one date may be Remi's
> birth (I think I read that on one of the sites I visited) and the
> other, his death.
> You'll get much better and more authoritative responses than this from
> our Saints Specialist in Chief once he checks his mail on this Sunday
> morning.
> Best, MG
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