Advent
Tuesday, December 15, 2026
On Tuesday, December 15, 2026, the Catholic Church is in Advent and the liturgical color is purple. The Church celebrates St Maria Crocifissa di Rosa.
Liturgical color: Purple
Day 17 of Advent this year, with 9 days to go.
Caravaggio · The Entombment of Christ · 1603-04 · public domain
Saint of the day
Optional
St Maria Crocifissa di Rosa
(1813–1855) Brescian industrialist's daughter who ran a workhouse for girls, nursed cholera epidemics, founded a school for the deaf, and established the Handmaids of Charity to serve hospitals — once facing down soldiers at the door with a crucifix.
Saint Maria Crocifissa, ready hands in every crisis, pray that we never wait to be asked.
This season
- Advent 2026: the day-by-day calendarA reflection prompt for every day to Christmas, the wreath, the O Antiphons
- St Andrew Christmas Novena — day 16 of 25The prayer, fifteen times today
- Novenas being prayed todaySt Andrew Christmas Novena
About Advent
Advent is the Church's four-week preparation for Christmas, beginning on the fourth Sunday before 25 December. It looks two ways at once: back to the Incarnation, and forward to Christ's return. The mood is watchful rather than penitential — the Gloria is omitted at Mass, but the Alleluia stays.
Why purple?
Purple is worn in Advent and Lent, and at funerals: preparation, penance, and mourning.
Verse of the day
Hag 2:7
Read it in context — the whole Catholic Bible is in the app, offline and free.
Frequently asked
What liturgical color is worn on December 15, 2026?
Purple, the color of Advent. Purple is worn in Advent and Lent, and at funerals: preparation, penance, and mourning.
What liturgical season is December 15, 2026 in?
Advent. Advent is the Church's four-week preparation for Christmas, beginning on the fourth Sunday before 25 December. It looks two ways at once: back to the Incarnation, and forward to Christ's return. The mood is watchful rather than penitential — the Gloria is omitted at Mass, but the Alleluia stays.
Is December 15, 2026 a holy day of obligation in the United States?
No. In the United States the holy days of obligation are Mary, Mother of God (1 January), the Assumption (15 August), All Saints (1 November), the Immaculate Conception (8 December), and Christmas (25 December); the Ascension is observed on a Thursday or the following Sunday depending on the diocese.
Which saint is celebrated on December 15, 2026?
St Maria Crocifissa di Rosa. (1813–1855) Brescian industrialist's daughter who ran a workhouse for girls, nursed cholera epidemics, founded a school for the deaf, and established the Handmaids of Charity to serve hospitals —…
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- Common Catholic prayersThe Rosary, the Chaplet, the Angelus — full texts
- Traditional novenasComplete nine-day texts
- The whole liturgical calendarEvery day from July 2026 to December 2027