This is not 29 February

Today is not 29 February.  Therefore it is not the feast day of:

1. St. Hilary, pope (+468).
2. St. Oswald, bishop in Anglia.
3. Blessed Anthonia of Florence, widow.
4. St. Auguste Chapdelaine, priest and missionary in China, martyr.

On the other hand, on the years not leap years, they are observed on 28 February.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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4 Comments

  1. David C says:

    But Father, But Father: I thought it was the other way around, that in leap (bissextile) years, the day commonly known as Feb 29 was reckoned by the Church as Feb 28. And Feb 28 was reckoned as Feb 27, and so on back to Feb 24, which was reckoned as 48 hours long. Is that not true anymore?

  2. Dave says:

    No, but it is the Feast of St. David of Wales.

  3. In the Byzantine Church, one of my favorite Saints, John Cassian, for some reason gets stuck with a feast day on February 29. In the Western Church, he is honored on the date of his death, July 23 – though only in the Diocese of Marseilles. Poor fellow!

  4. J. F. Gecik says:

    I have to agree with you, David C, unless Father supports what he has stated from the new Martyrology. I have always believed that the people named by Father died on February 29, but were commemorated on the 27th or 28th.

    There is some disagreement (on the Internet, anyway) about the day of memorial for St. Auguste Chapdelaine. Here is what can be found:

    The Holy See’s biographical notes on the martyrs almost always gives a definite date of martyrdom. For St. Auguste, however, it says only that he died “in February”:
    http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/ns_lit_doc_20001001_zhao-rong-compagni_en.html

    Opting for a February 27 memorial:
    http://www.catholic-forum.com/Saints/sainta0e.htm

    Opting for either February 25 or 26:
    http://chinesemartyrs.org/chinese_saints/108-e.htm

    JFG

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