Social Justice Calendar: April - July
A good way to integrate Catholic Social Teaching into the life of your community is to celebrate some of the exemplary witnesses in humanity’s long struggle for peace and justice, the key documents, or global observance days. Schools, parishes and charities could use liturgies, assemblies, INSET days, fundraising or advocacy campaigns for formation and education.
The list below is not exhaustive, but offers some of the key milestones from the liturgical calendar as well as UN and other international days. You might want to add your own dates from the charism of your community, or themes of particular resonance for you.
The calendar for 2025 will include some of the events in the Jubilee Year which have a close connection with social justice, but again this is not an exhaustive list. For all the events in the Jubilee Year, please visit: https://www.iubilaeum2025.va/en/pellegrinaggio/calendario-giubileo.html
You can find more information on the Jubilee for Schools at: https://cafod.org.uk/jubilee-schools as well as a range of resources from the Bishops’ Conference at: https://www.cbcew.org.uk/jubilee-2025/
7 April 2025
Feast of Jean Baptiste de le Salle, patron saint of teachers, founder of all the Lasallian schools worldwide. Lasallian education centres on Catholic values and personal relationships, emphasising academic excellence, faith formation, inclusion, respect for the individual, service and social justice. https://www.lasalleigbm.org/
11 April 2025
Anniversary of the publication in 1963 of the social encyclical, Pacem in Terris, by Pope John XXIII. Why not have a look at paragraphs 11-33 which outline the rights and duties of the human person?
20 April 2025
Easter Sunday, the celebration of the Lord’s resurrection from the dead. In the Gospel reading from John, Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb on the first day of the week while it was still dark, heralding the new creation, which is made all the clearer when the Risen Lord breathes his Spirit into the disciples in the Upper Room and “a people of missionary disciples is born” (Synod, Final Document, #140)
28-30 April 2025
Jubilee for People with Disabilities. Pope Francis will lead the celebrations for this Jubilee in Rome, but why not organise your own celebrations around this time, taking great care to make sure that people with disabilities are central to any planning and participation. A phrase that is often used by people with disabilities is, “nothing about us without us”.
1 May 2025
Feast of St Joseph the Worker. St Joseph has two feast days. On 19 March we celebrate St Joseph, the husband of Mary. On 1 May we celebrate St Joseph the Worker. Joseph, the father of Jesus, was a carpenter. We can only imagine the skills and values Jesus learned working with his father. This is a good day to highlight the dignity of workers.
1 May 2025
Anniversary of the publication in 1991 of the social encyclical Centesimus Annus, by Pope John Paul II. Why not have a look at paragraph 36 which reflects on the important distinction in the consumer age between ‘having’ and ‘being’.
1-4 May 2025
Jubilee of Workers. From the beginning of the modern era of Catholic Social Teaching, with Rerum Novarum in 1891, the dignity of workers has been one of the Church’s central concerns, especially in the age of industrialisation. This is a good opportunity to discern the conditions of the workers in your own community. Are they, for example, receiving a real living wage? For more information please visit: https://www.livingwage.org.uk/what-real-living-wage
9 May 2025
Birthday of Peter Maurin in 1877, co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement. Biography can be found here: https://catholicworker.org/pm-biography-html/. Maurin was also known for his Easy Essays, his vision of a Christian social order written in short accessible free verse poems. To see some of them visit: https://catholicworker.org/easy-essays-html/
15 May 2025
Anniversary of the publication in 1891 of the first of the Catholic Social Teaching encyclicals in the modern era, Rerum Novarum, by Pope Leo XIII (why not have a look at paragraph 3 to recall the powerful prophetic voice of this encyclical); in 1931 of Quadragesimo Anno, by Pope Pius XI (why not have a look at paragraph 57 to recall the strong emphasis on social justice in this encyclical); in 1961 of Mater et Magistra, by Pope John XXIII (why not have a look at the short paragraphs from 228-237 which deal with the importance of putting CST theory into practice).
21 May 2025
Feast Day of Blessed Franz Jagerstatter. Born in St Radegund, Austria in 1907. Executed on 9th August 1943 at Brandenburg Prison for his conscientious objection to serving in Hitler’s army. On 26 October 2007, Franz was Beatified in his home Diocese of Linz in Austria. For more information on this courageous witness to peace, visit: https://paxchristi.org.uk/resources/peace-people-2/blessed-franz-jagerstatter/
22 May 2025
Feast of St Rita (d. 1457) who was married at a young age despite her desire to be a nun. Her husband was ill-tempered and dissolute. He was killed by his enemies and Rita was eventually allowed to enter a convent where she remained until her death. At her canonization in 1900, she was bestowed the title, “Patroness of Impossible Causes”, while in many Catholic countries she came to be known as the patron saint of abused wives. Today is a good opportunity to explore the Church’s work to support victims of domestic abuse, such as the work of Safe in Faith, part of Caritas Westminster: https://caritaswestminster.org.uk/safe-in-faith/
24 May 2025
Anniversary of the publication in 2015 of Laudato Si’ by Pope Francis. A good day to look again at some key passages in this ground-breaking encyclical. Why not have a look at paragraphs 222-227 on Joy and Peace and the Christian spirituality of integral ecology.
29 May 2025
Feast day of St Pope Paul VI, the pope who saw the Second Vatican Council to a conclusion and produced some of the key social encyclicals of the 20th century.
31 May 2025
Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. A good day to read St Luke’s account (1; 39-56) of Mary’s visit to her relative Elizabeth, who was also pregnant by a miracle of God. Mary’s Song of Praise, the Magnificat, is a prophetic vison of the reversal of the world’s values, when the powerful are brought down and the lowly lifted up.
16 June 2024
Day for Life. In England and Wales, Day for Life is celebrated on the third Sunday of June each year. This year it falls on 16 June. The theme will focus on Redemptive Suffering and the Good Samaritan, drawing from the Apostolic letter, Salvifici Doloris. Day for Life is marked on the same day by the three Bishops’ Conferences of England and Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. For more information, visit: https://www.cbcew.org.uk/day-for-life
16-22 June 2025
Refugee Week. a UK-wide festival to celebrate the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary. The theme for Refugee Week 2025 is “Community as a Superpower”. For more information visit: https://refugeeweek.org.uk/theme-of-refugee-week-2025-community-as-a-superpower
20 June 2025
World Refugee Day. International day organised by the United Nations to celebrate and honour refugees around the world; established in 2001, in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, of which the UK was a founding signatory. https://www.unhcr.org/uk/get-involved/take-action/world-refugee-day
29 June 2025
Anniversary of the publication in 2009 of Caritas in Veritate, by Pope Benedict XVI. So much to reflect on in this long and powerful encyclical following the financial crash of 2008. Why not have a look at paragraph 45 on the need for a people-centred, ethical economics.
11 July
Feast of St Benedict, patron of Europe. St Benedict of Nursia in Italy, who died in 547, is one of the patron saints of Europe and is regarded as the father of western monasticism. The communities of monks he found in Subiaco in Italy went on to become what we now know as Benedictine monastic communities, known for their motto, ora et labora, pray and work. St Benedict wrote his famous Rule of St Benedict as a guide for his monastic communities. It is characterised by balance and reasonableness, the topic it deals with at greatest length is humility.
13 July
Sea Sunday (Second Sunday in July). Every year churches around the world celebrate Sea Sunday. It is a day for people to come together to pray for seafarers and fishers, and thank them for the vital role they play in all of our lives. For resources and more information, visit the website of Stella Maris at: https://www.stellamaris.org.uk/seasunday/
15 July
Birthday of Cardinal Manning in 1808. Cardinal Manning was a key figure in the resolution of the London dock strike in 1889. Around 130,000 dockers went on strike for more reliable pay and better conditions. Find out more about Cardinal Manning and the London dock strike of 1889 in this article by Jenny Sinclair, the founding director of Together for the Common Good: https://togetherforthecommongood.co.uk/from-jenny-sinclair/to-live-a-decent-life-2
27 July
World day for Grandparents and the Elderly. In 2021, Pope Francis instituted a Church-wide celebration of a World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, to be held on the fourth Sunday of July, close to the liturgical memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, the grandparents of Jesus. This day helps us to remember that the elderly are a gift and we have a duty to ensure that they are looked after well in their final years. This year the theme is, “Blessed are those who do not lose hope.”
31 July
Feast of St Ignatius of Loyola. Ignatius founded the Jesuit order which in recent years has been closely associated with the preferential option for the poor. One of their ‘works’, the Jesuit Refugee Service, is dedicated to serving, accompanying and advocating on behalf of refugees. For more information visit: https://www.jrsuk.net/