When is the Feast of Christ the King?

Donald P. Goodman III

26 May 2024

When is the feast of Christ the King? This should be a relatively easy question to answer. Unfortunately, some bad theology has made it much tougher than it has to be. The short answer, though, is this: the feast of Christ the King is the last Sunday of October. Let's explain.

Pope Pius XI established the feast of Christ the King on the last Sunday of October—and for very good reason.

Jesus Christ has always been celebrated as King; literally from the beginning, in fact. What did the people do when He came into Jerusalem? They laid their garments and palms on the ground before Him, and cried out, “Hosanna to the Son of David!”Mt 21:6–10. Calling Him the Son of David can mean only one thing: He is the heir of David, and therefore the rightful King of Israel. Nor, of course, did it end there; countless prayers, hymns, and feasts honor Him in His kingly role. One of the most ancient hymns we have, in fact, the Vexilla Regis, literally translates to “the King's banner”. When we praise Jesus Christ as our King, we are following in the footsteps of all Christians, from those who actually watched Him enter Jerusalem until now.

It was relatively recently, however, that a feast dedicated to Christ the King, specifically for His kingly role, was established. In 1925, Pope Pius XI issued the encyclical Quas Primas, which set the feast on the last Sunday of October, as we mentioned before. Fortunately, the Pope explained exactly why he put it where he did:

Therefore, by Our apostolic authority, We establish the feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King, every year, on the last Sunday of the month of October, which of course comes closely before the celebration of All Saints… And it was seen far more appropriate for this celebration to be on the last Sunday of October, by which time the course of the liturgical year is nearly closed; it thus happens that the mysteries of the life of Jesus Christ commemorated throughout the year may be summed up and resolved by the holy solemnities of Christ the King, and, before we celebrate the glory of All Saints, His glory is preached and brought forth, Who triumphs in all the Saints and the Elect.1

There is really a brilliant logic in this, setting the feast on a Sunday, right before a universal Holy Day of Obligation, and specifically right before All Saints' Day. The king leads us to the new year; and following the king are all His greatest soldiers, the saints, who triumph precisely in His Kingship.

Even more, though, the Pope says that he is setting the feast near (not at) the end of the liturgical year. The year isn't over, but it is nearly over; thus the feast can serve as a crowning glory on all the other mysteries we have celebrated. Between this fact, and the close leading to the feast of All Saints, Pius found the perfect place for this great new feast to be celebrated.

In the new calendar, however, the feast of Christ the King is changed in three important ways. First, the name of the feast has been changed. The feast established by Pope Pius XI is called, in Latin, the feast “Domini nostri Jesu Christi Regis”, or in English the feast “of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King.” In the new calendar, however, it is called the feast “Domini nostri Jesu Christi, Universorum Regis”, or in English the feast “of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of All Things.” There isn't much difference in actual meaning between these two names; however, it does serve to establish that we're celebrating a different thing.

Second, the content of the feast was changed. There is some overlap, of course, but the feel of the readings and prayers is quite different, in all three years of the new calendar's cycle, than that of the traditional feast. We have discussed this in more detail in other articles, for Year A, Year B, and Year C.

Finally, it was changed in place: now it is celebrated on the last Sunday per annum, what in English is rather ridiculously translated to “Ordinary Time”. One is forced to wonder: Why? What benefit is there to moving this great feast? What other celebration on the last Sunday of October needed to be accomodated such that the feast of Christ the King had to be transferred?

Fortunately, the consilium that made the change was good enough to tell us why:

On the last Sunday of the year is the solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of All Things, in place of the feast instituted by Pope Pius XI in the year 1925 and placed on the last Sunday of October. For this reason: the eschatological importance of this Sunday is placed in a better light.2

The Consilium very notably states that it is replacing the traditional feast with a new one (this new feast is “in place of” the old; the old is not being moved to a new date). However, once again, we will talk about that in another episode. For now, we can focus on the consilium's reasoning for the date: that its “eschatological” importance is clearer this way.

What in the world is “eschatological”?

The Oxford dictionary says that “eschatological” means “relating to death, judgment, and the final destiny of the soul and of humankind”. So the Consilium was trying to show us that the nature of the feast of Christ the King is relating to death, judgment, and the final destiny of the soul and humankind.

However, Christ's kingdom is demonstrably not eschatological.

When Christ spoke of His Kingship, He made it very clear that it extended over all times and places, not that it became important at some unspecified future time. He said, after all, that “All power is given to me in heaven and on earth”: in the present tense. Not that it will be given to Him; that it is.

Moreover, when Pius XI established this feast, he made it very clear that he was celebrating a Kingship of Christ which is present, right here and right now. He pointed out that the problem wasn't the existence of Christ's Kingship, which is present and indisputable; the problem is the recognition of that Kingship by sinful men. Indeed, the entire point of establishing this feast was to promote that clear, preexisting, here-and-now Kingship of Christ to the faithful, so that they might better publicly acknowledge it:

[S]ince the knowledge of the kingly dignity of Our Savior must be disseminated as widely as possible, nothing seems more useful for it, than if a proper and particular feast of Christ the King should be established.3

Nothing eschatological in that at all.

The traditional feast of Christ the King was designed to celebrate Christ's Kingship, which encompasses all times and places, and to encourage the faithful to acknowledge that Kingship everywhere. Indeed, Pope Pius specifically promised that recognizing it would bring great benefits now:

Therefore, when men will have privately and publicly recognized the kingship of Christ, necessarily incredible benefits of just liberty, of discipline and tranquility, of concord and peace, will run through the whole civil community.4

Notably, it was not established to promote some He-will-reign-at-the-end-of-the-world eschatological notion of Christ's Kingly authority.

However, putting the feast at the end of the liturgical year makes Christ's Kingship seem eschatological, even though the Church's (and, of course, Christ's own) perennial teaching is that it is not eschatological, but in fact present now and always. So we can add yet another to Pius's reasons for setting the feast in October, rather than later in the year: this location makes it perfectly clear that Christ's Kingship is not a celebration of something yet to come, but of something that is here and now, lacking only man's acknowledgement but none of its authority and beauty.

Those of us blessed enough to have access to the traditional liturgy need have no heartburn concerning this feast: we continue to celebrate it on the last Sunday of October, as we always have. Those not so blessed, however, are in a pickle. They want to honor Christ the King, and they want to honor Him as the Church established the feast, and they don't want to cast His Kingship as if it is something yet to come, some eschatological thing that is not present and need not be supported as we live here and now. What are they to do?

Such Catholics are in a difficult position, but their piety to Christ the King does not need to suffer. They may celebrate on the last Sunday of October, just as we all do. They may pray the traditional office, or read the traditional Mass readings; they may read about and reflect on the nature of Christ the King. Their joy and devotion to Christ the King is just as great as anyone's, and they should show it and cultivate it just as much as anyone. Praise to Christ the King is universal, just as His Kingship is universal.

So, to sum up: when is the feast of Christ the King?

1. The feast of Christ the King is on the last Sunday of October, right before the feast of All Saints, so that as we proceed through the liturgical year we find Christ the King followed by His loyal and triumphant soldiers.

2. The feast of Christ the King is on the last Sunday of October, nearly at the end of the liturgical year, thus serving as a crown on the many other mysteries of the life of Christ celebrated throughout that year.

3. The feast of Christ the King is on the last Sunday of October, near but not at the end of the liturgical year, to emphasize the fact that Christ's Kingship is not eschatological, but in fact is present right here and right now.

When is the feast of Christ the King?

On the last Sunday of October.

Christus vincit! Christus regnat! Christus imperat!