Feast of Christ the King Son of David

In the Hebrew Speaking Catholic communities, the Feast of Christ the King Son of David is celebrated within the Great Advent (see here). In the rest of the Church it signals the end of the liturgical year and the beginning of Advent. This year it is celebrated on November 24.

The feast, which commemorates Jesus Christ's reign over all of the universe, is a new feast in the Catholic calendar. Pope Pius XI defined the feast in 1925. At first the feast was celebrated on the Sunday preceding the Feast of All Saints but Pope Paul VI moved the feast to the end of the liturgical year, a week before the beginning of Advent that precedes Christmas.

 

The feast reminds us that when we gather around the altar (the table of the Lord), and especially on Sunday (the day of the Risen Lord), we are already celebrating the kingship of Jesus Christ, his coming at the end of time.