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 History
of Advent
In 490, Bishop Perpetuus of Tours officially declared
Advent a penitential season in the Frankish Church of Western Europe,
ordering a fast on three days of every week from November 11 till Christmas.
This forty days' fast, similar to Lent, was originally called Quadragesima
Sancti Martini (Forty Days' Fast of Saint Martin's).
By contrast, the Advent season of the Roman liturgy,
developing a century after that of the Frankish Church, was a non-penitential,
festive and joyful time of preparation for Christmas. By the thirteenth
century a compromise was reached, which combined the fasting and penitential
character of the Gallic observance with the Mass texts and shorter four-week
cycle of the Roman Advent liturgy. The liturgy of Advent remained substantially
unaltered until Vatican II mandated a few minor changes to more clearly
delineate the spirit of the Lenten and Advent seasons.
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