January 22
St Vincent, Deacon and Martyr
Feast shown for the year 2027; movable feasts can vary from year to year.
St Vincent, Deacon and Martyr, is honored as one of the most illustrious martyrs of Spain. Most of what is known about him comes from early Christian tradition, since contemporary sources are scarce and later accounts contain legendary embellishments. Vincent served as a deacon in Saragossa under Bishop Valerius during a time when Christians were fiercely persecuted by Roman authorities in the early fourth century. According to legend, his steadfastness and courage while enduring torture for his refusal to renounce his faith made him an inspiration for Christians facing oppression. His execution, believed to have taken place in Valencia, was marked by public resistance to his burial, signifying the profound respect he commanded even from non-Christians. The veneration of St Vincent spread rapidly throughout the Western Church, with his name appearing early in martyrologies and churches being dedicated to him across Europe. The Church commemorates St Vincent to remind the faithful of the cost of discipleship and the importance of witnessing to Christ, even under hardship. His example encourages perseverance and hope, inspiring believers through the ages to remain faithful in times of trial.
Permanent link
Ask a question about today’s feast
Questions about St Vincent, Deacon and Martyr (Novus Ordo Missae)
Liturgical texts of January 22, 2027
The liturgical day
Mass readings
ReadingHe 8, 6-13
Brothers,
the ministry that belongs to our high priest
is all the more excellent
because he is mediator of a better covenant,
based on better promises.
Indeed, if the first Covenant had been without fault,
there would have been no need to look for a second.
But it is in fact a reproach that God addresses to his people when he says:
The days are coming, says the Lord,
when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah.
It will not be like the Covenant
that I made with their fathers,
on the day when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of the land of Egypt:
they did not remain in my Covenant;
so I turned away from them,
says the Lord.
But this is the Covenant
that I will make with the house of Israel
when those days have passed,
says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their minds,
and I will write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
No longer will they need to teach,
each his fellow citizen or each his brother,
saying: "Learn to know the Lord!"
For all will know me,
from the least to the greatest.
I will be merciful regarding their faults,
and I will remember their sins no more.
By speaking of a new Covenant,
God has made the first obsolete;
and what is obsolete and growing old
is close to disappearing.
– The word of the Lord.
Psalm84 (85), 8.10, 11-12, 13-14
Show us, O Lord, your love,
and grant us your salvation.
Your salvation is near to those who fear you,
and glory will dwell in our land.
Love and truth will meet,
justice and peace will embrace;
truth will spring up from the earth
and justice will lean down from heaven.
The Lord will give his goodness,
and our land will yield its fruit.
Justice will go before him,
and his steps will mark out the way.
GospelMc 3, 13-19
At that time,
Jesus went up the mountain,
and he called those whom he wanted.
They came to him,
and he appointed twelve
so that they might be with him
and so that he could send them out to proclaim the Good News
with authority to cast out demons.
So, he established the Twelve:
Peter—that is the name he gave to Simon—,
James, son of Zebedee, and John, the brother of James
—to them he gave the name "Boanerges",
that is, "Sons of Thunder"—,
Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew,
Thomas, James, son of Alphaeus,
Thaddeus, Simon the Zealot,
and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.
– Let us acclaim the word of God.
Liturgical texts: © AELF — aelf.org