Vatican publishes "Martyrologium Romanum"

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Three years after finishing the massive project of updating and correcting the book-length calendar of Catholic saints, the Vatican has published an even bigger, more accurate version.

The "Martyrologium Romanum" ("Roman Martyrology") was presented to the public Dec. 4 during a conference on holiness and the complicated task of separating fact from legend when dealing with martyrs and saints who lived and died thousands of years ago and whose lives gave rise to fervent devotion and, perhaps, fanciful stories.

The martyrology -- with its 6,658 individual names and an additional 6,881 unnamed martyred "companions" -- is organized as a calendar; it lists the saints and blesseds whose feast is celebrated each day and provides a small biography of each.

The 844-page martyrology is considered a liturgical book, not a catalogue or history, because it forms the basis for determining which saint is remembered at Mass each day.

The book is published in Latin while Italian, French, and German translations are under way. No mention of an English edition.

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