COMMON OF THE SAINTS. — This is the third of the major sections into which the Roman Missal and Breviary are divided, comprising a collection of liturgical formulas (Masses and Offices) for the feasts of those saints who lack, either wholly or in part, proper formulary.
In the beginning, saintly feasts were quite rare; only from the fifth century onward is a rapid increase in feasts noted. It was therefore natural that these early feasts should have well-appointed liturgical formulary. But the continuous growth of feasts no longer allowed for an abundance of proper formulary. Moreover, some great early saintly feasts might even have had a certain number of proper formulas, especially for the Mass, at the celebrant’s free choice. Thus, for example, in the Leonine Sacramentary. Now, as time went on, one of these Mass formulas became definitively the proper festal Mass, while the other Masses were later used for saints of a similar type or became common use, either wholly or in part.
The first *Communia* to take shape were those for martyrs, confessors, and virgins (martyrs and non-martyrs), with a great variety of formulary, especially for the Mass. Equally ancient is the use of a *Communio* for the annual celebration of the dedication of churches. In general, at least in the sacramentaries, each *Communio* has formulas for the vigil of the feast and for the feast itself. In Rome there was formerly a *Communio* for the Apostles, inasmuch as, apart from the feast of SS. Peter and Paul, no particular feast existed for the other Apostles. In France, where the Apostles were celebrated individually, the Roman vigil Mass for the Apostles became the vigil Mass for SS. Simon and Jude (27 Oct.), and the festal Mass for All Apostles became the festal Mass for Simon and Jude (28 Oct.). Moreover, the Frankish Church made use of various proper Masses from the early Gelasian Sacramentary as common formulas: e.g., the proper Mass of St. Benedict, Abbot, celebrated then on 11 July, became the common Mass for abbots; the *Missa Statuti* of St. Marcellus, Pope, became the common Mass for confessors who were pontiffs (today, second place); the festal Mass of the martyrs Cornelius and Cyprian *Intret* came to be a common Mass for martyrs who were pontiffs (today, first place). In general, it may be affirmed that the early authentic Roman books were rather sparing in common formulary, whereas those of the Frankish Church, given the enormous development of the sanctoral during the Merovingian and Carolingian eras, assigned several ancient Gelasian Masses to new feasts and created other new formulary for common use.
The early Roman epistolaries have relatively few proper saints, but a fairly developed *Communio Sanctorum*, whereas the ancient Roman evangeliaries, on the contrary, record many particular saints but, for the common part, are quite limited. It suffices to compare the Würzburg lectionary, published by G. Morin (*Revue bénédictine*, 28 [1911]), and the four principal types of Roman evangeliaries, in Th. Klauser (*Das römische Capitulare evangeliorum*, München 1935). As for the liturgical books used in the Office, a great variety of formulary and a great difference in the number of individual types is noted. The early Roman sermonaries of the eighth century (e.g., Agimundus, Egino, Alanus, St. Peter in the Vatican) know only the primitive *Communia* of martyrs, confessors, virgins, and dedication. But later the *Communio* was greatly enriched also in sermonaries and homiliaries.
A certain uniformity was achieved only in the second half of the Middle Ages, chiefly through the liturgical books of the Roman Curia, spread throughout the world by the Friars Minor. The definitive arrangement, at least in substance, is due to St. Pius V, who prescribed for the whole Latin Church the Breviary (1568) and the Missal (1570), duly reformed by him. Yet even in the subsequent official editions of Clement VIII and Urban VIII, some parts of the *Communio* were still revised and perfected, especially in the Breviary. The *Communio Virginum* and *non Virginum* reached its present form only under Urban VIII (1631). In the first decades of the past century, a *Communio B. Mariae Virginis* appears here and there in the Breviaries, certainly occasioned by the increased number of minor feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the Missal, however, this *Communio* was introduced only in the Vatican typical edition of 1620. Pius XII introduced a new *Communio* “of one or more Supreme Pontiffs,” 9 Jan. 1942 (*AAS*, 34 [1942], pp. 105-117).
At present, the *Communio Sanctorum* appears somewhat different in the Missal and the Breviary, inasmuch as the Missal lacks a *Communio Apostolorum*, since the common parts for the Apostles are printed in full in the individual feasts. The same holds for the *Communio Evangelistarum*. Moreover, the votive Mass found in the Missal in honor of All Apostles brings together precisely the common elements of the individual festal Masses for the Apostles. Furthermore, the Missal presents, in each *Communio*, one or more complete Masses, whereas in the Breviary there are also some *Communia* which, in reality, are nothing more than “variations” to be used in the preceding or following complete *Communia*. With this premise, a table of the existing *Communia* is given here, according to the order of the more complete Breviary, noting in the margin if a *Communio* is rather only a variation of others.
Current structure of the *Communio Sanctorum*
1. Vigil of the Apostles. Variation in the ferial Office.
2. Communio of the Apostles outside Easter Time. Variation.
3. Communio of the Evangelists outside Easter Time. Variation of no. 2.
4. Communio of the Apostles and Evangelists in Easter Time. Variation of no. 2 or 3.
5. Communio of one or more Supreme Pontiffs. Variation of no. 6, 7, 9, as the case may be.
6. Communio of one Martyr outside Easter Time.
7. Communio of several Martyrs outside Easter Time.
8. Communio of one or more Martyrs in Easter Time. Variation of no. 6 or 7.
9. Communio of a Confessor who is a Pontiff.
10. Communio of Doctors. Variation of no. 9 or 11.
11. Communio of a Confessor who is not a Pontiff.
12. Communio of Abbots. Variation of no. 11.
13. Communio of Virgins.
14. Communio of Non-Virgins.
15. Communio of the Dedication of a Church.
16. Communio of the Feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
As can be seen, in the Breviary, out of 16 Communia, only nine are complete; in the Missal, however, there are 13 Communia, all complete. It is worth noting the proper Paschal type used for martyrs, which includes the Apostles and Evangelists. Martyrs were indeed the first to receive public cult in the Church; their feasts, if they fell within the Paschal season, fully participated in the joyful character of that liturgical time and thus also had their own Paschal liturgical formulas. Other saints, who entered the cult later, were granted, for the Paschal season, only a more extensive use of the alleluia in ordinary liturgical formulas. This preeminence of martyrs is also evident in the psalmody. It is well known that in antiquity the fundamental law for psalmody was continuous recitation; only on major feasts was a selection made, but always following the numerical progression of the psalms. Now, even a cursory comparison of the nocturnal and Vesperal psalmody of the Communia and the oldest feasts of martyrs reveals its direct derivation from the primitive psalmody for martyrs. The Communio for virgins, given their particular character of holiness, also has a psalmody sui generis; however, it should be noted that the most illustrious female martyrs (Agatha, Agnes) have a psalmody very close to the primitive one for martyrs, and that the first confessor with public cult, St. Martin, still retains the complete psalmody of a martyr. The psalmody of virgins was also used for other female saints and, with variations—especially in the readings—for the Blessed Virgin Mary (only Psalm 47 of the Communio for virgins was replaced by Psalm 86, which sings of the holy Jerusalem, an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary). An independent development took place in the psalmody for the Apostles and for the Dedication. As for the Apostles, it is curious to reread the subtle comments of medieval liturgists, who naturally observed the difference in psalmody between the Apostles and other saints. They also noted, however, that the nocturnal office of the Apostles contains, in progressive order, various psalms from the ferial cycle (ancient); hence these liturgists deduced the following symbolism: the Apostles, by virtue of their universal mission, encompass all times; therefore, their psalmody draws its elements from every day (see the relevant notes in B. Gavanti-G. M. Merati, *Thesaurus sacrorum rituum*, II, Rome 1736, p. 156).
The Communia Sanctorum (C.S.) is, in a sense, a makeshift, and therefore cannot fully satisfy. The continuous increase in the feasts of saints, of such varied types and spiritualities, makes the deficiency of the C.S. even more keenly felt, as it remains, by its very nature, generic, colorless, and ill-suited to saints of markedly distinct character. Finding a remedy for this state of affairs will be difficult; a return to entirely proper formulary for each saint, as some desire, seems impossible, at least for the universal Church; for local and religious uses, however, more appropriate texts are readily granted. There is a widespread desire and a true movement for the creation of a proper Communio for saintly priests, who at present pass without the slightest distinction to their state, being treated merely as non-pontifical confessors.