The Transfiguration of the Lord
Feast of the Lord
- Feast Day
- August 6
The Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord celebrates the manifestation of Christ in glory before the apostles Peter, James, and John, narrated in the three Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 17:1-9, Mark 9:2-10, Luke 9:28-36) and alluded to in the Second Letter of Peter (2 Peter 1:16-18). According to the tradition consolidated by the fourth century and confirmed by Saint Cyril of Jerusalem and Saint Jerome, the Transfiguration occurred on Mount Tabor in Galilee. The principal sanctuary of the feast, the Basilica of the Transfiguration, was first built in the fourth century and rebuilt by Crusaders and most recently in 1924 by the Franciscans.
On the mountain, after six (or eight) days of teaching about his Passion (Matthew 17:1, Luke 9:28), Christ was transfigured before his three closest disciples: his face shone like the sun and his clothes became dazzling white. Moses and Elijah appeared with him, conversing about his exodus to be accomplished at Jerusalem (Luke 9:31). A bright cloud overshadowed them, and the voice of the Father proclaimed: This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him (Matthew 17:5). The voice of the Father, the visible glory of the Son, and the cloud of the Holy Spirit make this the second Trinitarian Theophany of the Gospels, after the Baptism in the Jordan, and a privileged manifestation of Christ's divinity.
The feast was observed in the East from the fifth century. Pope Callixtus III extended the Feast of the Transfiguration to the universal Latin Church in 1457, fixing its date as August 6, in thanksgiving for the Christian victory over the Ottoman Turks at Belgrade on July 22, 1456 (the news reaching Rome on August 6). The post-Vatican II reform retained August 6 as a Feast in the General Roman Calendar.
The Catechism teaches that on Tabor Christ revealed his divine glory, confirming Peter's confession; he showed the disciples the way of his Passion as the path to the Resurrection, and prefigured the glory of his risen body and of the saints in heaven (CCC 554-556). Pope Saint John Paul II in Rosarium Virginis Mariae (2002) added the Transfiguration to the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary as the mystery of beauty by which the Father invites us to listen to his Son. The feast on August 6 falls during high summer in the Northern Hemisphere, a season iconographically suited to the brightness of the manifested Christ.
Catholic Churches Named After The Transfiguration of the Lord
11 parishes on Catholic Church Times share The Transfiguration of the Lord's name. Find their Mass times, confession schedules, and adoration hours:
- Church of the Transfiguration — San Jose, CA
- Polish Catholic Church of the Transfiguration — City of Olean, NY
- Church of the Transfiguration — West Milton, OH
- Church of the Transfiguration — Southfield, MI
- Church of the Transfiguration — Fincastle, VA
- Old Monastery of the Transfiguration Church — Malaybalay, Bukidnon
- Parish of the Transfiguration of our Lord — Cavinti
- Catholic Church of the Transfiguration
- Church of the Transfiguration, Conemaugh — Conemaugh, PA
- Church of the Transfiguration — Punggol, SG
- Church of the Transfiguration — Pittsford, NY
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