| Holiday Name: | Feast of Christ the Priest |
| Type: | Christian |
| Observedby: | Catholic Church (see countries and institutes observing the feast.) |
| Litcolor: | White |
| Frequency: | Annual |
| Date: | First Thursday after Pentecost |
The Feast of Christ the Priest, also known as the Feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ, The Eternal High Priest, is a Roman Catholic moveable liturgical feast celebrated annually on the first Thursday after Pentecost. Approval for this feast was first granted by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in 1987.[1] [2] In 2012 the Congregation sent a letter to all conferences of bishops, offering the feast to be inscribed in their respective liturgical calendars if they ask for it.[3]
The feast focuses firstly on Jesus’ Priestly Office (Latin: Munus sacerdotale). He is considered the model for believers, and for the clergy in particular, with priests acting In persona Christi (“In the person of Christ”). The laity are thus urged to pray that priests would be more like Christ, the compassionate and trustworthy high priest (Hebrews 2:17), ever-living to intercede for humanity before The Father (Heb 7:25).
The Second Vatican Council taught many things about the Priesthood of Christ, and sharing in that one Priesthood through the Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Orders. This development has been reflected in many subsequent documents. One effective way to build upon this teaching is to establish the Feast of Christ the Priest more widely.
What Pope Pius XI wrote about the feast in honor of Christ’s Kingly Office can be said just as truly about this feast in honor of Christ's Priesthood:
The feast has its own proper texts for the Mass, as for the Votive Mass of the Blessed Eucharist B.
The feast also has approved Latin, Spanish and English texts for the Liturgy of the Hours.The formulary lacks proper texts for the extended vigil (per IGLH 73). This rules celebration of the extended vigil out entirely, since, unlike other feasts, feasts of the Lord cannot draw on Common of the Saints.
The entry from the Roman Martyrology (2005) reads: