Sacred Calendar
The Roman year ordered for memory, penance, feasts, saints, and the daily pilgrimage of the faithful.
Calendar standard
Pre-1955 Roman usage
The calendar follows the universal Roman year under the rubrics of Pope St. Pius X, with the Roman Martyrology preserved as a distinct daily witness.
The day is presented for prayer, recollection, study, and perseverance in the City.
Daily observance
Today in the City of God
The Church keeps this day in holy time. The Pilgrim's Companion gathers the feast, daily quote, Martyrology, meditation, prayer, and related chapters into one daily path through the City.
Choose a date
Daily observance
St. Matthias, Apostle
Tuesday, February 24, 2026
Season: Lent
The day is set within the Roman year so its feast, Martyrology, daily quote, prayer, and reading path may be received together without blurring their proper sources.
Today's pilgrimage
St. Matthias, Apostle
Rank: Double of the Second Class
Color: red
Quote for the day
St. Luke
“The lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.”
Acts 1:26, Douay-Rheims
Roman Martyrology
Roman Martyrology - February 24
In Judea, the birthday of the Apostle St. Matthias, - who was chosen by lot by the apostles after the Ascension of our Lord in the place of the traitor Judas, and suffered martyrdom for preaching the Gospel. — At Rome, St. Primitiva, martyr. — At Caesarea, in Cappadocia, St. Sergius, martyr, of whose life a beautiful account still exists. — In Africa, the holy martyrs Montanus, Lucius, Julian, Victoricus, Flavian, and their companions. They were disciples of St. Cyprian, and suffered martyrdom under the emperor Valerian. — At Rouen, the passion of St. Prsetextatus, bishop and martyr. — At Treves, St. Modestus, bishop and confessor. — In England, St. Ethelbert, king of Kent, converted to the faith of Christ by St. Augustine, bishop of the English. — At Jerusalem, the first finding of the head of our Lord's Precursor.
Highlighted saint
St. Matthias
Apostle chosen to fill the place of betrayal.
St. Matthias was numbered with the apostles after the fall of Judas, showing that Christ preserves apostolic order even after betrayal.
His feast teaches that the Church is not destroyed by treachery. God supplies faithful witnesses where men have failed.
Virtue to practice
Humble fidelity after betrayal.
Error to resist
The scandal that uses another man's treachery as permission to abandon duty.
For the pilgrim in exile
Let St. Matthias teach you that God can repair breaches without noise. The soul becomes useful when it first becomes teachable.
Imitate today
- Persevere after scandal.
- Accept the duty God gives without seeking notice.
- Pray for apostolic fidelity in the Church.
Sources
- Acts 1:15-26, Douay-Rheims.
- Roman Martyrology, 1916 Baltimore edition, February 24.
From Matins
The apostolic place filled after betrayal.
Matins - One Nocturn - St. Matthias, Apostle
Acts of the Apostles, Acts 1
“He was numbered with the eleven Apostles.”
Doctrine taught
- The Breviary begins St. Matthias with St. Peter standing among the brethren after the Ascension to address the fall of Judas.
- The apostolic office is not treated as private honor, but as a public ministry that must be filled by one who witnessed the Lord's life, death, and Resurrection.
- Matthias is chosen after prayer to Him who knows all hearts, showing that apostolic succession belongs to divine judgment, not ambition.
For the pilgrim in exile
Do not let betrayal make you despise office. St. Matthias teaches that Christ's Church repairs wounds by prayer, apostolic order, and fidelity to the Resurrection.
Sources
- The Roman Breviary, translated by John, Marquess of Bute, 1908, vol. I, Winter, First Nocturn for St. Matthias, lessons i-iii.
- Bute 1908 is used here as an accessible pre-Pius X Breviary witness and is cited distinctly from the 1936-1937 Benziger / Burns Oates edition.
Breviary Witness
The apostolic place repaired after betrayal.
Matins - St. Matthias
Breviary witness
- The Breviary honors St. Matthias as the apostle chosen after Judas fell.
- His witness teaches that God can repair breaches in apostolic order without noise, vanity, or despair.
For the pilgrim in exile
Do not let betrayal become an excuse for abandonment. Christ can supply faithful witnesses where men have failed.
Sources
- Roman Breviary, Matins lessons for February 24, St. Matthias.
- Acts 1:15-26, Douay-Rheims.
Gospel of the day
Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent.
St. Matthias, Apostle - Matthew 11:25-30
“Learn of me, because I am meek, and humble of heart.”
What Our Lord teaches
- The apostolic place lost by treachery is filled under God's providence.
- Christ forms His apostles in humility, meekness, and rest beneath His yoke.
Virtue to practice
Accept the yoke of Christ in the duty appointed to you.
Error to resist
The restless ambition that wants office without meekness.
For the pilgrim in exile
Let St. Matthias teach you that God can repair breaches without noise. The soul becomes useful when it first becomes teachable.
Sources
- Matthew 11:25-30, Douay-Rheims.
- Traditional Roman Gospel for St. Matthias.
Meditation
Apostolic Fidelity
Today the Church turns the pilgrim toward apostolic order: the faith received, guarded, preached, and suffered for. In exile this is not an abstraction. The faithful must love the visible form Christ gave His Church without confusing office, truth, and fidelity.
Related paths
Walk the day through the City.
Today's chapters
Read with the feast.
Prayer
The day should become prayer.
O Lord, pardon my faults, raise my heart from discouragement, and teach me to begin again under Thy mercy.
Thought for the pilgrim
The pilgrim is formed by returning to God again and again.
Practice
The day should become obedience.
Make a brief examination of conscience before sleep and end the day with an act of contrition.
Source notes
Universal Roman Calendar under the rubrics of Pope St. Pius X
Fasting and abstinence according to the laws observed in 1952
Daily quotations and pilgrimage excerpts should come from Scripture, Fathers, Doctors, saints, traditional popes before 1958, traditional catechisms, approved devotional works, or received liturgical texts.
The Roman Martyrology, Baltimore, 1916, published by John Murphy Company; the local 1916 text is displayed and traceable to its source lines.
- St. Andrew Daily Missal, Liturgical Calendar, pp. xvii–xxviii.