25 October 2026 – On the last Sunday of October, the Church celebrates the Feast of Christ the King according to the traditional Roman calendar. Pope Pius XI instituted this feast in 1925 through his encyclical Quas primas, in response to growing secularism and the exclusion of Christ from public life. The feast proclaims His kingship over individuals, families and nations, and reminds us that human society too is subject to His authority.
The Pope chose the last Sunday of October because the liturgical year is drawing to its close. Thus the feast crowns the mysteries of Christ celebrated throughout the year, and, immediately before All Saints, the Church proclaims the glory of Him who triumphs in all His saints.
Miniature from the Sacramentary of Saint-Martial of Limoges, tenth century. Christ appears in royal majesty within a mandorla, surrounded by angels. He raises His right hand in blessing and holds an open book. Beside His head are the Greek letters Alpha and Omega, referring to Christ as the Beginning and the End (Apocalypse 22:13). Reproduction: Larousse.
Quas primas
In his encyclical Quas primas of 11 December 1925, Pope Pius XI instituted the Feast of Christ the King. In it he affirmed the royal rights of Christ over all men and nations and condemned the exclusion of God and His Church from public life. The following passages are taken from the encyclical.
The kingship of our Redeemer therefore embraces all mankind. We gladly make our own the words of Our predecessor Leo XIII, of immortal memory: His dominion extends not only over Catholic nations or over those who, having been cleansed by holy Baptism, belong by right to the Church, even if error has led them astray or division has separated them from charity. It also embraces all those who do not possess the Christian faith, so that the whole human race is truly subject to the power of Jesus Christ.
Let the rulers of nations, therefore, not refuse to offer, both personally and on behalf of their peoples, public homage of reverence and obedience to the sovereignty of Christ, if they wish to preserve their own authority and promote the prosperity of their country.
By decreeing that Christ the King shall be honoured throughout the Catholic world, We shall also provide for the needs of our time and apply a special remedy to the evil which has afflicted human society. We refer to the evil of our age, commonly called secularism, with its errors and destructive endeavours.
For the more unworthily the most sweet name of our Redeemer is passed over in silence at international gatherings and in parliaments, the more loudly must that name be proclaimed, and the more emphatically must the rights of Christ’s royal dignity and authority be affirmed.
The annual celebration of this feast will also remind nations that not only private individuals, but also public officials and rulers are bound to honour Christ openly and to obey Him.
The complete encyclical in Dutch Quas primas is available in our Catholic Classics section.
See also the Friday Meditation by Cardinal Lépicier in Dutch on The Kingship of Jesus Christ.
Hymn Te saeculorum Principem
The Prince of ages and of man,
O Christ, we own that Thou art He:
Our minds, our hearts, nor will nor can
Acknowledge any Lord but Thee.
The outcry of the rabble rings:
We will not suffer Christ to reign;
But our voice, which triumphant sings,
Hails Thee as King Supreme again.
O Christ, who art the Prince of Peace,
Rebellious minds to Thee subject,
And, in Thy love that doth not cease,
Stray sheep in Thy one fold collect.
For this, upon the grisly Tree
Thou hangest, with Thine arms outspread,
The spear-thrust showing cruelly
Thy Heart wherein love’s fires are red.
For this, like bread and wine indeed,
Upon our altars Thou dost hide,
Outpouring, for Thy children’s need,
Salvation from Thy wounded side.
With honors, public as the skies,
Let heads of nations Thee confess,
Let judge and statesman learn to prize,
And laws and all the arts express.
Let their insignia anew
Shine forth when kings to Thee submit,
And may Thy scepter meek subdue
Our country, and our homes, to it.
O’er every earthly mastery
‘Tis Thine, O Jesus, to preside:
With Father and with Spirit be
For endless ages glorified.
English translation by Father Fitzpatrick († 1929).