Christ the King
The newest major feast in the calendar, and it was made in answer to something specific
Christ the King 2026 is Sunday, November 22: the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, kept on the last Sunday of the liturgical year. Advent begins the following Sunday, November 29, with the first candle of the Advent wreath. Pope Pius XI established the feast in 1925, in the encyclical Quas Primas. It falls on a Sunday, so the usual Sunday Mass obligation applies and no separate holy day obligation arises.
Christ the King 2026 — Key Dates
Christ the King Dates 2026–2034
The date moves each year because Christ the King is the last Sunday of the Church’s year, the Sunday before Advent begins.
| Year | Christ the King |
|---|---|
| 2026 | November 22, 2026 |
| 2027 | November 21, 2027 |
| 2028 | November 26, 2028 |
| 2029 | November 25, 2029 |
| 2030 | November 24, 2030 |
| 2031 | November 23, 2031 |
| 2032 | November 21, 2032 |
| 2033 | November 20, 2033 |
| 2034 | November 26, 2034 |
What Is Christ the King?
The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, falls on the last Sunday of the liturgical year, which in 2026 is November 22. The following Sunday is the First Sunday of Advent and the year begins again. It is the newest of the major feasts. Pope Pius XI established it in 1925, in the encyclical Quas Primas, and it was a deliberate response to the politics of the moment rather than a devotional addition. Europe between the wars was producing states that claimed total authority over their citizens, and nationalism was being offered as something worth ultimate loyalty. The feast was the Church's answer: there is one authority above every state, and it is not the state. That is why it has an edge that a feast about kingship might not otherwise have. It was not written to make Christians feel patriotic about heaven. It was written to say that every earthly power is provisional. Originally it fell on the last Sunday of October. The 1969 calendar reform moved it to the last Sunday of the year, which sharpened it considerably. The readings in the closing weeks of the year are about the end of things, judgement, and what lasts. Placing this feast there makes the point structurally: the year ends with Christ reigning, and only then does Advent begin again with waiting. The kingship being celebrated is also not the obvious kind. The Gospel read on this day is often the crucifixion, with a sign over the cross naming him king, and a criminal beside him asking to be remembered. That is the coronation the Church puts at the end of its year.
Observance & Rules
Christ the King is a solemnity and falls on a Sunday, so the ordinary Sunday obligation applies and no separate holy day obligation arises. There is no fasting or abstinence. It is a feast. In some places an act of consecration of the human race to Christ the King is prayed publicly on this day, and a plenary indulgence is traditionally attached to it under the usual conditions. Whether your parish does this varies, and it is worth asking rather than assuming. Because it closes the liturgical year, it is also the last Sunday before the readings, colours and mood change completely. The following week is Advent.
Practical Guide
Go to Mass, which is your Sunday Mass anyway, and listen to the Gospel with the feast in mind. It is usually not a triumphant text. Treat it as the Church's New Year's Eve, because that is what it is. Advent begins the next Sunday, and this is the natural point to look back over a year and decide what to carry into the next one. Use it to prepare for Advent rather than being caught by it. Advent arrives every year and every year people notice it on the second Sunday. A week's notice is the practical gift this feast gives you. And if the language of kingship is difficult, which it is for a lot of people who did not grow up with monarchy, the feast itself supplies the correction. The king in question is being executed at the time. That is the kind of authority being claimed.
Advent begins the Sunday after. Setting up a wreath? Which candle, which Sunday — with this year’s dates, and why the third is rose.
The feast of Christ the King always falls within a few days of U.S. Thanksgiving. For the holiday table, there is a Thanksgiving prayer for family and friends, for a hard year, and for anyone spending the day alone.
Advent begins the very next Sunday. For the four weeks there is a printable Advent calendar — one small thing a day, from the first candle to the crib.
Prayers for Christ the King
Scripture for This Season
Bible Verses About Faith
Scripture on believing what we cannot see, and the faith that moves mountains.
Bible Verses About Hope
Scripture for holding on when the future feels dark, the hope that does not disappoint.
Bible Verses About Trust
Scripture for learning to lean on God rather than on your own understanding.
Where this falls in the year
- EarlierAll Souls' DayNovember 2, 2026
- LaterAdventNovember 29, 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Solemnity
All Souls DaySee the full liturgical calendar — every feast this year, and an embed for your parish site.