Candlemas
![[The Presentation of Christ in the Temple]](ncd06892.jpg "detail from 'The Presentation of Christ in the Temple', by Tintoretto, 1550-1555, oil on canvas, Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice, Italy; please do not write to ask about the image")
- Also known as
-
Our Lady of the Candles
Presentation of the Infant Jesus in the Temple
Purification of the Blessed Virgin
- Memorial
- 2 February
- About the Feast
- The feast commemorates the purifying of the Blessed Virgin according to the Mosaic Law, 40 days after the birth of Christ, and the presentation of the Infant Jesus in the Temple.
The feast was introduced into the Eastern Empire by Emperor Justinian I, and is mentioned in the Western Church in the Gelasian Sacramentary of the 7th century.
Candles are blessed on that day in commemoration of the words of Holy Simeon concerning Christ "a light to the revelation of the Gentiles" (Luke 2), and a procession with lighted candles is held in the church to represent the entry of Christ, the Light of the World, into the Temple of Jerusalem.
"Candlemas" is still the name in Scotland for a legal term-day on which interest and rents are payable (2 February).
- Patronage
-
Jaro, Philippines, city of
Western Visayas, Philippines
- Additional Information
-
Goffine's Devout Instructions
Catholic Encyclopedia
Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate
Our Sunday Visitor's Encyclopedia of Saints, by Matthew Bunson, Margaret Bunson, and Stephen Bunson
- Translate
-
español | français | deutsch | italiano | português
New Catholic Dictionary