Catholic Dictionary

Find accurate definitions of over 5,000 Catholic terms and phrases (including abbreviations). Based on Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

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STATION DAYS

Appointed days on which the early Christians fasted between twelve and three. They were usually feast days on which the faithful gathered at stated churches for the celebration of Mass. These days were still marked in the Roman Missal before the Second Vatican Council, on which the Pope formerly celebrated Mass in the so-called "station churches" in Rome. Pope St. Gregory the Great is believed to have assigned a special church to each station day, which comprised all Marian feasts and the ferial days of Lent. Other days were then added so that they now total eighty-four.