February 24, 2010 // Uncategorized

What happened to St. Dorothy?

Todays Catholic

Why are certain saints no longer on the calendar? My first name is Dorothy and I am so hurt she is no longer on the saints’ calendar. My maiden name is Blais and I always enjoyed so much my double feast days (sort of) in February. I know there is still St. Blaise, but what happened to St. Dorothy? Maybe there are other saints who have “disappeared” too. D. H.

It is completely within the discretion of the Holy Father to determine which saints and blesseds are to be on the Universal Liturgical Calendar. The criterion that he would use to determine this, I would assume, is whether those saints and blesseds have importance for the entire Church. Some saints and blesseds were taken off the calendar, I presume, because it was determined that, while a particular saint or blessed is most important for a certain segment of the Church, the saint or blessed was not well known or did not impact the life of the entire Church. 

Saints and blesseds can be included on a regional basis in the liturgical cycle. For example, Blessed Andre Basset is included in the liturgical calendar for the United States, but he does not appear on the universal calendar. My guess would be that St. Dorothy does appear on a regional liturgical calendar some place in the world where she is known or has had an impact.