Q. When I grew up I learned what or to whom each month of the year was dedicated. A lot of years have passed. Can you tell me if the months still have a special dedication? How are they dedicated?
A. According to The Catholic Source Book, the months of the year are dedicated to:
January—The Holy Childhood
February—The Holy Family
March—St. Joseph
April—The Holy Spirit
(also the Eucharist)
May—Mary
June—The Sacred Heart
July—The Precious Blood
August—The Blessed Sacrament
September—The Seven Sorrows
October—The Holy Rosary
November—The Souls in Purgatory
December—The Immaculate Conception
Days of the week are dedicated to:
Sunday—The Holy Trinity
Monday—The Souls in Purgatory
(The Holy Spirit)
Tuesday—Guardian Angel
Wednesday—Saint Joseph
Thursday—The Blessed Sacrament
Friday—His Precious Blood
Saturday—Mary
I have not been able to discover who determined the dedication of the days and months in this fashion. But according to the Dictionary of Catholic Devotions, the first month of the Sacred Heart was observed in 1833. Incidentally, Catholic Source Book also notes the connection between the First Fridays and the Sacred Heart.
Pope Leo XIII extended the custom of October devotions to all parish churches who were to pray for the normalization of relations between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy after the desegregation of the Papal States. The linking of Mary with May goes back to Spain as far as the 13th century.
