Christ the King Brazil

Christ the King: Date Calculation

The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, which most people just call the Feast of Christ the King, lands on the last Sunday of Ordinary Time. That is the Sunday right before the First Sunday of Advent. In practice it always ends up in November. You can work it out as Christmas - 4 Sundays - 1 Sunday, meaning the Sunday that comes before the four Advent Sundays leading into Christmas.

Pope Pius XI established the feast in 1925 with the encyclical Quas Primas, a response to the secularism spreading at the time. The liturgical reform of Paul VI later shifted it, in 1969, to where it sits now: the closing Sunday of the liturgical year, which puts the focus on Christ’s eschatological kingship over all of creation.

Applications

It comes in handy for parish planning, religious education and cultural tourism. A number of famous statues carry the name. The Cristo Rei sanctuary in Almada (Portugal, near Lisbon) drew its inspiration from Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer (Cristo Redentor), and several Brazilian cities have their own Cristo Rei monuments that draw pilgrims and tourists alike.

FAQ

Why was the feast created? Pius XI proclaimed it in 1925 to reassert the social kingship of Christ at a moment when nationalism, secularism and the totalitarian ideologies of the interwar years were on the rise.

Is it always in November? In the post-1969 Roman Rite calendar, yes. It falls somewhere between November 20 and November 26, and the exact day depends on which weekday Christmas hits that year.

What is the difference between Cristo Rei (Almada) and Cristo Redentor (Rio)? Both are large statues of Christ with arms spread wide. Cristo Redentor (1931, Rio de Janeiro) came first. The Cristo Rei of Almada (1959) was raised by the Portuguese episcopate as thanks for Portugal having been spared the ruin of World War II, and it was modeled directly on Rio’s monument.