Prayerbook, Holy Sacrifice of Mass, Old Latin Mass, Feastdays...AUGUST

Care should be taken always to consult the Proper of the local Diocese, as some Feasts are not celebrated by the Universal Church but are kept only in a particular diocese and by some religious Congregations.

The date is usually the date of the saint's death, known as a feast day because death was the beginning of life in heaven, or of the translation of his or her relics.

Feast Days are also known as Name Days and, in countries with a strong Catholic tradition, are sometimes celebrated instead of Birthdays.

1	St. Peter's Chains	This Feast commemorates the chains with which St. Peter was bound at Jerusalem and at Rome by order of Nero. These chains are preserved in the basilica of St. Peter ad Vincula (St. Peter in Chains).
2	St. Alphonsus Mary de Liguori, Bishop, Confessor	St. Alphonsus was born in the village of Marianella, near Naples, Italy, Sept. 27, 1696. At sixteen he earned his degree of Doctor of Laws. In 1726 he was ordained to the priesthood. After a few year he founded the congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists) with the object of laboring for the salvation of the most abandoned souls. He died at Nocera dei Pagani, Italy, in 1787.
2	St. Stephen, Pope, Martyr	Born at Rome during the reign of Valerian and Galienus, St. Stephen governed the Church for three years. He was beheaded during the celebration of Mass in 257.
3	The Finding of the Body of St. Stephen	On the 5th of December in 415, Lucian, a priest, discovered the body of St. Stephen at Kapha-Gamala. Numberless miracles have been wrought throughout the world by means of the relics of St. Stephen.
4	St. Dominic, Confessor	St. Dominic, a native of Calaroga in old Castile, Spain, was a member of the illustrious house of Guzman. Born in 1170, he founded the Order of Friars Preachers, propagated devotion to the Rosary, and saved the Western Church from the growing power of the Albigensian heresy. He led an extremely active life, preaching the Gospel, lecturing on theology and establishing houses of his Order. He died at Bologna, Italy, in 1221.
5	Dedication of the Church of our Lady of the Snows	According to legend, a roman nobleman and his spouse, under the Pontificate of Liberius (4th century), finding themselves without offspring, offered all their worldly goods to the Bless Virgin, asking her to indicate the manner by which they were to dispose of them. On the night of August 5 the Blessed Virgin appeared to them and requested that they erect a basilica in her honor on that part of the Esquiline Hill which they would find covered with snow.
6	The Transfiguration of our Lord	All the churches under the title of St. Savior as well as the Lateran Basilica, today celebrate this patronal Feast. The Gospel gives a vivid description of the Transfiguration of our Lord on Mt. Thabor.
6	Sixtus II, Pope, Martyr; Felicissimus and Agapitus, Martyrs	During the persecution of Decius, Sixtus II, as well as his Deacons, Felicissimus and Agapitus were martyred.
7	St. Cajetan, Confessor	St. Cajetan is the founder of the Theatines, the Order of the Congregation of Clerks Regular. He contributed greatly to the reform of morals in the 16th century. He died in 1547.
7	St. Donatus, Bishop, Martyr	St. Donatus was Bishop of Arezzo in Tuscany and suffered martyrdom for Christ during the reign of Julian the Apostate in 362.
8	Sts. Cyiacus, Largus and Smaragdus, Martyrs	St. Cyriacus, Deacon of the Roman Church, his two companions and twenty other Christians suffered martyrdom during the persecution of Diocletian in 303.
9	St. John Mary Vianney, Confessor	Universally known as the "Cure of Ars," St. John Vianney was born at Dardilly in 1786. He heard confessions of people from all over the world for sixteen hours each day. His life was filled with works of charity and love. The staunchest sinners were converted at his word. He died on August 4, 1859 and was canonized on May 31, 1925.
9	St. Romanus, Martyr	St. Romanus was a soldier contemporaneous with St. Lawrence from whom he received Baptism. He suffered glorious martyrdom by being beheaded.
10	St. Lawrence, Martyr	In 257 Pope Sixtus II ordained St. Lawrence to the diaconate. Though St. Lawrence was still young, the same Pope appointed him as one of the seven deacons of the Roman Church. summoned by the Prefect of Rome to surrender the treasury of the Church, St. Lawrence instead distributed them among the poor. According to tradition, St. Lawrence was roasted to death on a red hot gridiron over a slow fire.
11	Sts. Tiburtius, Martyr; and Susanna, Virgin, Martyr	St. Tiburtius was condemned to death by fire in 286, but he arose from the flames unscathed. He was then beheaded. St. Susanna, a holy virgin, was beheaded after grievous torments in 295, for refusing to marry the Emperor's son.
12	St. Clare, Virgin	St. Clare renounced all her worldly goods, in spite of the opposition of her family; she received the penitential habit from the hands of Francis of Assisi, and founded the Second Franciscan Order ("Poor Clares"). She died in 1253.
13	Sts. Hippolytus and Cassian, Martyrs	St. Hippolytus, baptized by St. Lawrence, suffered martyrdom during the reign of Valerian. St. Cassian, a school master, was pierced to death with stilettos by his own pupils in 258.
14	The Vigil of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary	The liturgy of today's Mass is a preparation for the worthy celebration of the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
14	St. Eusebius, Confessor	St. Eusebius was a Roman priest who defended orthodoxy during the Arian heresy. He died in the 4th century, during the reign of Constantius.
15	The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary	On November 1, 1950, Pope Pius XII defined as a truth revealed by God that the Immaculate Mother of God, Mary, ever Virgin, when the course of her life on earth was finished, was taken up body and soul into heaven.
16	St. Joachim, Confessor	On November 1, 1950, Pope Pius XII defined as a truth revealed by God that the Immaculate Mother of God, Mary, ever Virgin, when the course of her life on earth was finished, was taken up body and soul into heaven.
17	St. Hyacinth, Confessor	St. Hyacinth, a Pole, became acquainted with St. Dominic in the course of a journey to Rome. He became a Dominican and labored indefatigably for the establishment of the Order of Preachers in Poland.
18	St. Agapitus, Martyr	At the tender age of fifteen, St. Agapitus underwent martyrdom for the Faith in 275.
19	St. John Eudes, Confessor	Born in France, Nov 14, 1601, St. John Eudes founded the Congregation of the "Priests of Jesus and Mary" and the Congregation of "Sisters of our Lady of Charity." He died in 1680.
20	St. Bernard, Abbot	Confessor, Abbot, and Doctor of the Church, St. Bernard was the guiding light of the Church in the 12th century. At 22 years of age, he became a Cistercian Monk. Appointed Abbot of the Monastery of Clairvaux, he was the arbiter of his century. Preacher of the second crusade, he wrote many pages on the Blessed Virgin and Jesus Christ. He died in 1153.
21	St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Widow	Under the direction of St. Francis de Sales, St. Jane Frances de Chantal founded the "Order of the Visitation." She died at Moulins, in 1641.
22	The Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary	Our Lady of Fatima is said to have asked for the Consecration of the world to her Immaculate Heart in order to obtain world peace and the conversion of Russia. To it must be added devout prayer, true repentance and penance for the sins of men. In 1942, Pope Pius XII consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. In 1945, the sovereign Pontiff established this new Feast to promote devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and extended it to the Universal Church.
22	Sts. Timothy, Hippolytus and Symphorian, Martyrs	St. Timothy, a native of Antioch, was martyred at Rome in the 4th century. St. Hippolytus, Bishop of Porto, suffered martyrdom by drowning, some time during the 3rd century. St. Symphorian was beheaded at Autun toward the end of the 2nd century.
23	St. Philip Benizi, Confessor	Born at Florence, Italy, St. Philip became a lay brother and then was ordained Priest in the Servite Order, became General of the Order but repeatedly refused the Papacy. He died in 1285.
24	St. Bartholomew, Apostle	Many scripture scholars believe Bartholomew is the Nathaniel spoken of by our Lord. He preached the Gospel in Arabia. Tradition tells us that he was flayed alive.
25	St. Louis, King, Confessor	Born in 1215, Louis IX became King of France at 15 years of age. Educated as a Christian King by his saintly mother, St. Louis undertook two Crusades to the Holy Land. He died at Tunis in 1270.
26	St. Zephyrinus, Pope, Martyr	St. Zephyrinus defended the dogma of the Unity of God and the Trinity of Persons. He suffered martyrdom in 217.
27	St. Joseph Calasanctius, Confessor	This holy priest was born in Spain in 1556. For 52 years he instructed children in the Faith and founded "The Order of Clerks Regular of the Poor Schools of the Mother of God." He died in 1648 and was canonized by Pope Clement XIII in 1767.
28	St. Augustine, Bishop, Confessor	St. Augustine was born at Tagaste, Africa in 354. Monica, his mother, constantly prayed for his conversion. At thirty-five years of age, St. Augustine finally received Baptism. At forty-one, he became Bishop of Hippo. From this time until his death, he wrote voluminous works that have been the admiration of the ages. His sublime knowledge merited for him the title of one of the greatest Doctors of the Western Church.
28	St. Hermes, Martyr	A famous Roman citizen, Hermes freed 1200 slaves upon becoming a Christian. He was beheaded during the reign of Emperor Hadrian toward the middle of the 2nd century.
28	St. Sabina, Martyr	St. Sabina suffered a glorious martyrdom at Rome during the persecution of Hadrian in the early part of the 2nd century.
29	The Beheading of St. John the Baptist	St. John reproached Herod for his unlawful union. The adulterous Herodias and her shameless daughter, Salome, asked Herod to behead the Precursor.
30	St. Rose of Lima, Virgin	Born in Lima, Peru, St. Rose is the first American Saint. At fifteen years of age she received the habit of the Third Order of St. Dominic, and for 16 years lived a life of mortification and penance. She died in 1617 at thirty-one years of age.
30	Sts. Felix and Adauctus, Marytrs	St. Felix was beheaded along the Ostian Way (Rome) in 307. At the moment of his martyrdom an unknown Christian joined him voluntarily in martyrdom. The Church has given him the name of Adauctus (Added).
31	St. Raymond Nonnatus, Confessor	A Religious of the "Order of Our Lady of Mercy," he gave himself up as a captive to the pagans in order to ransom the Christians. He was in chains for eight months. He died in 1240.