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

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. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Workman, Confessor	The Holy See has granted an indult permitting Mass to be said on this day in the United States also on Labor Day, first Monday of September.
2	St. Athanasius, Bishop, Confessor	St. Athanasius was born at Alexandria toward the end of the 3rd century. Elevated to the Bishopric of Alexandria, he became the champion of the Faith against Arianism. He died in 373, leaving many religious and apologetic writings.
3	The Finding of the Holy Cross	In the beginning of the 9th century, the Feast of the Finding of the Cross was transferred to May 3, and on Sept. 14 was celebrated the "Exaltation of the Cross." The commemoration of a victory over the Persians by Heraclius, as a result of which the relic of the Holy Cross was returned to Jerusalem.
3	St. Alexander, Pope, Martyr; Sts. Eventius and Theodolus, Martyrs; St. Juvenal, Bishop, Confessor	St. Alexander, Pope, ruled during the reign of Hadrian. He was martyred at the same time as Eventius and Theodolus in 117. St. Juvenal, Bishop of Narni died about 377.
4	St. Monica, Widow	St. Monica was born in Africa. She first converted her pagan husband, and then, by her tears and unceasing prayers, her son St. Augustine, who is regarded as one of the greatest Doctors of the Western Church. She died at Ostia in 387.
6	St. John, before the Latin Gate	St. John, the Apostle, was brought to Rome under Domitian and condemned to be plunged into a cauldron of boiling oil, but he came forth unharmed from his torment. He was then exiled to Patmos.
7	St. Stanislaus, Bishop, Martyr	St. Stanislaus was born in Poland. As Bishop of Cracow he reproached King Boleslaw II for his dissolute life. Boleslaw slew him during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, in 1079.
9	St. Gregory Nazianzen, Bishop, Confessor	St. Gregory, called "The Theologian," because of his profound knowledge of Sacred Scripture, was born at Nazianzen of Cappadocia, Asia Minor. He became successively the Bishop of Sosina, Nazianzen, and Patriarch of Constantinople. He died in the latter part of the 4th century after having written many pious works of Scriptural eloquence.
10	St. Antoninus, Bishop, Confessor	St. Antoninus was received into the Dominican Order at sixteen years of age. As Bishop of Florence, he possessed all the virtues which distinguished the greatest bishops of antiquity. His apostolic zeal, charity, and austerity of life were the glory of the Florentine Church. He died in 1459.
10	Sts. Gordian, Epimachus, Martyrs	St. Gordian was a Roman judge converted by a priest who was brought before him for sentence. St. Epimachus was an Alexandrian, martyred for the Faith about 250.
11	Sts. Philip and James, Apostles	St. Philip, like Peter and Andrew, was of Bethsaida. He was crucified at Hierapolis in Phrygia where he preached the Gospel. St. James the Less was a cousin of our Lord and a brother of the apostle Jude. He wrote one of the epistles of the New Testament. He was hurled down from the terrace of the temple and clubbed to death.
12	Sts. Nereus, Achilleus, Domitilla and Pancras, Martyrs	Nereus and Achilleus were servants of the household of Flavia Domitilla, the wife of the consul Flavius Clemens. They were martyred toward the end of the 1st century. At the age of fourteen, St. Pancras was martyred during the reign of Diocletian about 304.
13	St. Robert Bellarmine, Bishop, Confessor	St. Robert Bellarmine was born at Montepulciano, Italy on October 4, 1542. He joined the Society of Jesus, and was later made Cardinal and Archbishop of Capua. He was famous throughout Europe as a theologian and as a strenuous defender of the Faith. His numerous writings include works of devotion and instruction, as well as of controversy. he died in 1621.
14	St. Boniface, Martyr	St. Boniface was tortured and beheaded at Tarsus in Cilicia at the beginning of the 4th century.
15	St. John Baptist de La Salle, Confessor	Founder of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, St. John Baptist de La Salle is called the father of modern pedagogy. In 1678 he was ordained to the priesthood and received his doctorate in theology in 1680. In 1691 he founded the first novitiate of Brothers at Vangirard, France. He died in Rouen, in 1719, and was canonized on May 24, 1900.
16	St. Ubaldus, Confessor	Born at Gubbio, Italy. St. Ubaldus distinguished himself by his generous charity and apostolic zeal. He died in 1160.
17	St. Paschal, Confessor	St. Paschal was born in Spain, His youth was spent tending flocks. he entered the Order of St. Francis at twenty years of age, and became a model of all religious virtues. He died in 1592. Leo XIII declared him protector of all Eucharistic congresses.
18	St. Venantius, Martyr	At the age of fifteen, St. Venantius was made to suffer cruel torments, and was finally beheaded in 250, by order of Emperor Decius.
19	St. Peter Celestines, Pope, Confessor	St. Peter founded a branch of the Benedictine Order called the Celestines. He was called forth from the solitude he loved, and was made Supreme Pontiff, which high office he renounced in order to continue his hermit life. He died in 1296.
19	St. Pudentiana, Virgin	St. Pudentiana, like her sister the holy martyr Praxedes, consecrated her virginity to the heavenly Spouse. She died in 160 at sixteen years of age.
20	St. Bernardine of Siena, Confessor	St. Bernardine, born of noble parentage, left all and entered the Franciscan Order and became one of its chief glories. He preached everywhere devotion to the name of Jesus, and died in 1444.
25	St. Gregory VII, Pope, Confessor	Before ascending the Papacy, St. Gregory was known as Hilderbrand, a monk of the Benedictine Order. As a monk and Pope (1073) he fought against the temporal benefices of the Church and the abuses within the Church. He died in 1085
25	St. Urban I, Pope, Martyr	St. Urban baptized St. Valerian, the spouse of St. Cecilia, and St. Tiburtius, his brother, together with Maximus their jailer. He died a martyr in 230.
26	St. Philip Neri, Confessor	St. Philip Neri was born at Florence. Ordained a priest, he founded the Congregation of the Priests of the Oratory. He is noted for his zeal in converting sinners by means of the confessional. He died at 80 years of age, in 1595, after having demonstrated many miraculous gifts.
26	St. Eleutherius, Pope, Martyr	St. Eleutherius governed the Church for fifteen years after the persecution of Commodus. He died in 192.
27	St. Bede the Venerable, Confessor	St. Bede, who lived in the 8th century, was member of the Order of St. Benedict. Because of the enormous amount of his writings, full of sound doctrine, he was called "Venerable" while still living. He is rightly call "The Father of English History." He died in 735.
27	St. John I, Pope, Martyr	St. John I was Pope under the Arian King Theodoric. Captured and brought to Ravenna, he died in prison shortly after in 526.
28	St. Augustine of Canterbury, Bishop, Confessor	St. Augustine was sent by St. Gregory the Great to England to convert the people to Christianity. At Canterbury he erected a monastery, and there established his Episcopal See. He is said to have baptized thousands of Englishmen in one day. He died in the year 604.
28	St. Mary Magdalen dei Pazzi, Virgin	At ten years of age, St. Mary Magdalen consecrated her virginity to God. When she was nineteen, she received the Carmelite habit. Her constant exclamation was: "To suffer and not to die." She died in 1607.
30	St. Felix I, Pope, Martyr	St. Felix commanded his priests to celebrate Mass over the tombs of Martyrs. he was martyred in 274.
31	The Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary	On October 11, 1954, His Holiness, Pope Pius XII, in his encyclical letter, "Ad Caeli Reginam," decreed and instituted the Feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary to be celebrated throughout the world every year on May 31. Likewise, "there be renewed the consecration of the human race to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary."
31	St. Petronilla, Virgin	St. Petronilla was converted to the Faith by St. Peter, and later ministered to him. She died toward the latter half of the 1st century.