The Only Festival of the Church I Keep is Septuagesima

Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde spoke these words in 1894 to an actor who had complained to him about holding rehearsals on Christmas Day. Although not a Catholic himself, Wilde had a lifelong interest in Catholic theology and liturgy (Richard Ellmann, Oscar Wilde, p. 428).

“The only festival of the Church I keep is Septuagesima.”

Prior to the liturgical reforms that followed the Second Vatican Council, the ninth Sunday before Easter and third Sunday before Ash Wednesday was known in Latin as Dominica in Septuagesima or Septuagesima Sunday. This was the first day of the Tempus Septuagesimæ, which can be translated as the season of Septuagesima, Septuagesima Time, or Septuagesimatide.

This pre-Lenten season consists of three Sundays designated as Septuagesima Sunday, Sexagesima Sunday, and Quinquagesima Sunday. These names are derived from Latin numbers and signify a rough countdown to Easter Sunday. Lent is quadragesima (forty), septuagesima (seventy), sexagesima (sixty), and quinquagesima (fifty).

To the casual observer, the season of Septuagesima may look and sound much like Lent. Except for on certain feast days, the Gloria is not used at Mass and the Te Deum is not used in the Divine Office. The clergy wear violet vestments instead of green and the Alleluia is totally forbidden from First Vespers of Septuagesima Sunday (Saturday evening) until the first Mass of Easter at the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday night.

The Consilium ad exsequendam constitutionem sacra liturgia or Council to Execute the Constitution of the Sacred Liturgy, the post Vatican II panel charged with the broad implementation of liturgical reform and headed by the late Archbishop Annibale Bugnini, decided to abolish the season of Septuagesima. The reason given by was that “it was not possible to restore Lent to its full importance without sacrificing Septuagesima, which is an extension of Lent” (The Reform of the Liturgy, p. 307, n. 6).

Pope Saint Paul VI affirmed the importance of the period of preparation for Lent when the topic of Septuagesima was discussed during the liturgical reform. Archbishop Bugnini recounted this himself:

On one occasion Pope Paul VI compared the complex make up of Septuagesima, Lent, Holy Week and Easter Triduum, to the bells calling people to Sunday Mass. The ringing of them an hour, a half-hour, fifteen and five minutes before the time of Mass has a psychological effect and prepares the faithful materially and spiritually for the celebration of the liturgy (The Reform of the Liturgy, p. 307, n. 6).

Despite Pope Saint Paul VI’s sound reasoning, Septuagesima was officially abolished, even though it predates Ash Wednesday and was mentioned in the writings of Pope Saint Gregory the Great who died in 604.

Nevertheless, the spirit of Septuagesima endures. The ordo for the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite provides this pastoral note for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time:

“In less than a month, Lent will begin. Planning for this season might focus on the following areas: Prayer: Eucharist (Sunday, daily, catechumens an RCIA [Rite of Election, the Scrutinies and Presentations]), Liturgy of the Hours, (Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer for the parish), Penance (individual and communal) and traditional devotions (Stations, etc.); Fasting: communal and individual, simple meals; Almsgiving: works of charity, participation in public activities, etc.” (Ordo: Order of Prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours and Celebration of the Eucharist, Paulist Press, 2023, p. 59).

The Old Farmer’s Almanac, first published in 1792, still includes the season of Septuagesima in its list of “moveable religious observances”.

Many Catholics are often caught off guard by the sudden return of Lent each year. Practically speaking, a pre-Lenten season is indeed a very beneficial “warm up” to the penances of Lent. The traditional season of Septuagesima acts as a gentle reminder to spend some time in thoughtful prayer and planning for Lent. Septuagesima is still formally observed by Catholics who celebrate the Sacred Liturgy according to the liturgical books that were in use in 1962, as well as by Catholics of the Anglican Ordinariates. The season of Septuagesima is also observed by some Anglican and Lutheran communities.

While most of us may attend Mass where Septuagesima is treated as nothing more than an historical footnote, this is still the time of the Church year to begin looking ahead to the coming Lenten season.

“Graciously hear, we beseech Thee, O Lord,

the prayers of Thy people,

that we, who are justly afflicted for our sins,

may for the glory of Thy Name be mercifully delivered”

(The Roman Missal, 1962 edition, collect prayer for Septuagesima Sunday).