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Octave of Christmas

Fresco of the Holy Family in Dobling Carmelite Monastery in Vienna, Austria. The Church celebrates the feast of the Holy Family this year on Friday, Dec. 30, 2022. | Renata Sedmakova / Shutterstock

The 8 Days of Christmas? A Look at the Christmas Octave

Dec 26, 2022

The Catholic calendar has several ways to divide the Christmas season. The Church’s Western liturgical tradition sees Christmas as an octave, an eight-day celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.

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Members of SECAM's Theological Committee (COMITHEOL). Credit: SECAM

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Credit: St. Joseph's Mission Hospital, Migori School of Nursing

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New Apostolic Nuncio in Zimbabwe, Archbishop Janusz Urbańczyk, speaking to Journalists on 16 May 2024. Credit: Catholic Church News/Zimbabwe

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A Marian apparition. / Credit: "The World of Marian Apparitions: Mary's Appearances and Messages from Fatima to Today"

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Pope Francis meets with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I at the Vatican, Oct. 4, 2021. / Credit: Vatican Media

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Members of the Episcopal Conference of Benin (CEB). Credit: CEB

Increased “cases of murder, suicide” Cause for Concern for Benin’s Catholic Bishops, Who Say Human Life is “inviolable”

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Members of the Episcopal Conference of Benin (CEB). Credit: CEB

Increased “cases of murder, suicide” Cause for Concern for Benin’s Catholic Bishops, Who Say Human Life is “inviolable”

Let’s Help Youths in Africa “learn how to swim in the sea of artificial intelligence systems”: Catholic Archbishop

The late Bishop Anthony Pascal Rebello, who was confirmed dead after collapsing during Holy Mass on 4 May 2024. Credit: SACBC

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Fr. Basil Gbuzuo, abducted from Nigeria's Catholic Archdiocese of Onitsha on 15 May 2024. Credit: Catholic Archdiocese of Onitsha

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In an interview with 60 Minutes' Norah O'Donnell, airing this Sunday, Pope Francis took aim at his “conservative critics” in the United States. / Credit: CBS News/Adam Verdugo

Conservative Critics Have a "suicidal attitude": Pope Francis

sergign/Shutterstock.

Madagascar’s Catholic Bishops Fault Bill to Castrate Child Rapists as “against human dignity”

Members of the Episcopal Conference of Madagascar (CEM). Credit: Vatican Media

Corruption, “lack of genuine decentralization” among Challenges Hindering Madagascar’s Development: Catholic Bishops

Members of SECAM's Theological Committee (COMITHEOL). Credit: SECAM

Planned Meetings of “mixed group of African theologians, pastoral practitioners, experts” to Reflect on Synodal Outcomes

A Marian apparition. / Credit: "The World of Marian Apparitions: Mary's Appearances and Messages from Fatima to Today"

New Norms on Alleged Marian Apparitions, Other Religious Phenomena Give Vatican Greater Say

New Apostolic Nuncio in Zimbabwe, Archbishop Janusz Urbańczyk, speaking to Journalists on 16 May 2024. Credit: Catholic Church News/Zimbabwe

Fostering “hope, peace, prayer, and dialogue” among Priority Goals of New Apostolic Nuncio in Zimbabwe

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