May 2026 — Overview for the Month
Description
The month of May is dedicated to The Blessed Virgin Mary.
Highlights
May 29 or June 1
Ascension
The whole universe is invited to acclaim the glories of the Ascending Christ. He is surrounded with the just of Limbo, with the souls who had finished their purgatorial expiation and probably with the saints who came out of their tombs on Easter Sunday: "Ascending on high He has led captivity captive".
Recipe of the Month
Beignets de Pommes (Apple Fritters)
To celebrate the feast of the Ascension, try making apple fritters, or plain Beignets if you don't have the fruit.
Activity of the Month
Ascension Thursday Picnic
Solemnities, such as the Feast of the Ascension, should be days of festivity. Why not a picnic and a day of fishing for the feast of the Ascension.
Symbols
St. Philip
It was to St. Philip that Christ addressed his remark concerning the feeding of the multitude. The roundels represent two loaves of bread.
St. James the Less 
This symbol refers to the tradition that St. James was cast down from a pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem, stoned and sawn asunder by the Jews.
St. Matthias
Chosen, by lot, to replace Judas Iscariot, St. Matthias served as a missionary in Judaea, where he is said to have been stoned and beheaded. A battle axe with silver head and tawny handle, white open book with inscription "super Mathiam."
Our Lady
The fleur-de-lys is a symbol for the Blessed Virgin Mary and is derived from the Madonna's lily.
You are all-beautiful, O Mary! You are the glory, you are the joy, you are the honor of our people!
Publisher & Date
Catholic Culture, July 27, 2023
The Easter season is represented by the liturgical color white — the color of light, a symbol of joy, purity and innocence (absolute or restored). The season ends on Pentecost, May 24. The remainder of the month (beginning the Monday after Pentecost) is in Ordinary Time which is represented by the liturgical color green. This symbol of hope is the color of the sprouting seed and arouses in the faithful the hope of reaping the eternal harvest of heaven, especially the hope of a glorious resurrection.
The Holy Father's Intentions for the Month of May 2026
For the use of the new technologies: Let us pray that the use of the new technologies will not replace human relationships, will respect the dignity of the person, and will help us face the crises of our times. (See also The Pope's Prayer Intentions.)
Feasts for May
1. Joseph the Worker, Opt. Mem.
2. Athanasius, Memorial
3. FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER, Sunday
10. SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER, Sunday
12. Nereus and Achilleus; Pancras, Martyrs; Minor Rogation Day, Opt. Mem.
13. Our Lady of Fatima; Minor Rogation Day, Opt. Mem.
14. Matthias, Apostle or SOLEMNITY OF THE ASCENSION, Feast
15. Isidore the Farmer (USA), Opt. Mem.
17. ASCENSION SUNDAY or the SEVENTH SUNDAY OF EASTER, Solemnity
18. John I, Opt. Mem.
20. Bernardine of Siena, Opt. Mem.
21. Christopher Magallanes & Companions, Opt. Mem.
22. Rita of Cascia, Opt. Mem.
23. Augustine of Canterbury; Ember Wednesday, Opt. Mem.
24. PENTECOST, Sunday
25. Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, Memorial
26. Philip Neri, Memorial
27. Augustine of Canterbury; Ember Wednesday, Opt. Mem.
31. TRINITY SUNDAY, Solemnity
Focus of the Liturgy
The Gospel readings for May are taken from St. Luke and St. John. All are from Cycle A, Weekdays Year 1.
| May 3 | Cycle A, John 14:1-12: I am the way and the truth and the life. |
| May 10 | Cycle A: John 14:15-21: I will ask the Father and he will give you another Advocate. |
| May 17 | Ascension, Cycle A, Matthew 28:16-29: All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Seventh Sunday, Cycle A, John 17:1-11a: Father, glorify your Son. |
| May 24 | Cycle A, B, C, John 20:19-23: As the Father sent me, so I send you: Receive the Holy Spirit. |
| May 31 | Cycle A, John 3:16-18: God sent his Son that the world might be saved through him. |
Highlights of the Month 
As Spring blossoms forth and we are surrounded by new life, we spend this month full of the joy of our Easter celebration and in anticipation of the coming of the Holy Spirit, our Consoler and Advocate on Pentecost (June 8).
The saints that we will focus on this month—those who have already shared in the rewards of the Resurrection—are:
St. Joseph the Worker (May 1),
St. Athanasius (May 2),
St. Nereus & Achilleus, St. Pancras (May 12),
Our Lady of Fatima (May 13),
St. Matthias (May 14), St. Isidore the Farmer (May 15),
St. John I (May 18),
St. Bernadine of Siena (May 20),
St. Christopher Magallanes (May 21),
St. Rita of Cascia (May 22),
St. Bede, St. Gregory VII and St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi (May 25),
St. Philip Neri (May 26), and
St. Augustine of Canterbury (May 27).
The feasts of Sts. Philip and James (May 3), St. Damien de Vuester and John of Avila (May 10), and and the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (May 31) are superseded by the Sunday liturgy. The Solemnity of the Ascension (May 14) is celebrated on May 17 (Sunday) in most dioceses in the United States.
A Time of Grace 
The world is resplendent with Spring's increased light and new growth. It is Mary's month in the Easter season and all of nature rejoices with the Queen of heaven at the Resurrection of the Son she was worthy to bear. During the remainder of Easter time, let us endeavor through the prayers of the Holy Liturgy and the Holy Rosary to deepen our gratitude for the mystery of our Baptismal rebirth in Christ.
"The month of May, with its profusion of blooms was adopted by the Church in the eighteenth century as a celebration of the flowering of Mary's maidenly spirituality...With its origins in Isaiah's prophecy of the Virgin birth of the Messiah under the figure of the Blossoming Rod or Root of Jesse, the flower symbolism of Mary was extended by the Church Fathers, and in the liturgy, by applying to her the flower figures of the Sapiential Books—Canticles, Wisdom, Proverbs and Sirach.
"In the medieval period, the rose was adopted as the flower symbol of the Virgin Birth, as expressed in Dante's phrase, 'The Rose wherein the Divine Word was made flesh,' and depicted in the central rose windows of the great gothic cathedrals-from which came the Christmas carol, 'Lo, How a Rose 'ere Blooming.' Also, in the medieval period, when monasteries were the centers of horticultural and agricultural knowledge, and with the spread of the Fransiscan love of nature, the actual flowers themselves, of the fields, waysides and gardens, came to be seen as symbols of Mary..." —John S. Stokes
Pentecost, the birth of the Church, is also among the celebrations of May. Though sprung from the side of Christ on the Cross, the Church marks as her birthday the descent of the Holy Spirit on Mary and the Apostles. At the 'birth' of the world, the Holy Spirit — the Breath of God — was the "mighty wind [that] swept over the waters" (Gen 1:2); at the birth of the Church He is present again "like the rush of a mighty wind" to recreate the world in the image of Christ through His Church (Acts 2:2).
We, the members of Christ's Mystical Body, are the present-day disciples sent by the Holy Spirit to bring Christ to the world. May we go forth as did Mary, who set out in haste to assist St. Elizabeth (feast of the Visitation, May 31). Come upon us, O Holy Spirit, so that, with Mary, we may proclaim the greatness of the Lord who has done great things for us — for his mercy endures forever!
"In the hierarchy of holiness it is precisely the 'woman', Mary of Nazareth, who is the 'figure' of the Church. She 'precedes' everyone on the path to holiness; in her person 'the Church has already reached that perfection whereby she exists without spot or wrinkle'". —John Paul II Mulieris Dignitatem, 1988This item 12548 digitally provided courtesy of CatholicCulture.org
