Preview: 100th Anniversary of "Quas Primas" and the Feast of Christ the King

On the 11th of December in 1925 Pope Pius XI issued his encyclical Quas Primas explaining the reasons for establishing the Feast of Christ the King. Since some liturgical calendars still mark the feast on the last Sunday of October, before the feasts of All Saint and All Souls--and Advent isn't as far off as we might think, as parishes and publishers are planning for meditations for that season (since the feast is celebrated on the Sunday before the first Sunday of Advent)--we'll look at the 100th anniversary of Quas Primas on Monday, October 20. I'll be on the Son Rise Morning Show at my usual time, about  7:50 a.m. Eastern/6:50 a.m. Central to discuss this anniversary and its importance. Please listen live here or catch the podcast later here.

The first words of this encyclical refer to the first encyclical Pope Pius XI issued, Ubi arcano Dei consilio ("When in the inscrutable designs of God" he was elected the Vicar of Christ!) at the end of December in 1923. The theme of Ubi arcano was "On the Peace of Christ in the Kingdom of Christ". Although the First World War had ended, he noted that "the nations of the earth have not as yet found true peace" (paragraph 7) and there was a "dense fog of mutual hatreds and grievances" (11) separating people and nations" influencing the spiritual lives of Christians negatively and preventing them from knowing "the peace of God which surpasseth all understanding" (Philippians iv, 7) fully (38). In paragraph 48, Pope Pius XI highlights "the Kingdom of Christ." 

In Quas Primas he expands upon that theme:

Men must look for the peace of Christ in the Kingdom of Christ; and that We promised to do as far as lay in Our power. In the Kingdom of Christ, that is, it seemed to Us that peace could not be more effectually restored nor fixed upon a firmer basis than through the restoration of the Empire of Our Lord. We were led in the meantime to indulge the hope of a brighter future at the sight of a more widespread and keener interest evinced in Christ and his Church, the one Source of Salvation, a sign that men who had formerly spurned the rule of our Redeemer and had exiled themselves from his kingdom were preparing, and even hastening, to return to the duty of obedience.

Since the Church had been celebrating a Jubilee Year for the 1600th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea Pope Pius XI wanted to "enhance the glory of the kingdom of Christ" further by establishing a new liturgical feast. And on that new liturgical feast Pope Pius wanted Catholics to renew their dedication "of mankind to the Sacred Heart of Jesus".

When I read this encyclical--remember that Pope Pius XI would also reflect on Pope Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum during his pontificate with Quadragesimo anno--I noticed how carefully Pius aligned the spiritual kingdom of Christ with the Church's practical concerns with worldly affairs regarding moral and spiritual matters (marriage and family for example and religious freedom for another) for "the reconstruction of the social order." One practical result of this effort are the various Concordats negotiated between the Holy See and different countries to assure the Church could celebrate the Sacraments freely, etc.

He referenced Leo's Annum Sacrum for this connection between the acknowledgement of Christ as King and devotion to His merciful Sacred Heart--and I presume we could now see the further connection to the devotion to His Divine Mercy.

So as we prepare for the celebration of this feast, either in October or November, and as we celebrate the centenary of its introduction to the liturgical calendar, it's timely and fitting to read it!

Viva Cristo Rey!