Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus

The Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus is an observance found in the liturgical calendar of the Roman Catholic Church. The feast honors the naming of the infant Jesus after it had been revealed to St. Joseph in a dream, and to the Virgin Mary by the archangel Gabriel at the Annunciation.

Originally, the feast was celebrated on the Sunday between New Year's Day and the Epiphany; in years when no such Sunday existed the fixed date of January 2 was substituted (however this did not become a holy day of obligation). Most other Christian denominations reckon this Sunday as merely the "Second Sunday After Christmas".

The new liturgical calendar that took effect in 1970 after having been approved by the Second Vatican Council eliminated this feast, at least in part due to the fact that in the United States the Epiphany was transferred to this Sunday from its fixed date of January 6. However, Pope John Paul II created a new Holy Name of Jesus feast in 2002, to be observed on January 3, bearing the official status of an "optional memorial" (outside the United States, in years when a Sunday exists between January 1 and January 6, it is designated the Second Sunday after Christmas, as in most other Christian polities; however, the Gospel reading used at the Mass for this Sunday does recount how the infant Jesus acquired His name).

In addition, the second Sunday of each month is designated in the Roman Catholic calendar as a "Holy Name Sunday", and has its own special Mass, which may be substituted for the regular one that would otherwise be solemnized on that Sunday (except if a major observance such as Easter falls thereon), much like the first Friday of each month has its own special Mass (the same as the one used annually on the Feast of the Sacred Heart).