A little further info on my classmate’s question:
In the pre-Vatican II calendar, the feast day of St. John Baptist de La Salle was May 15, the anniversary of his being proclaimed Patron of Christian Teachers.
When the general calendar was reformed after Vatican II, his feast date was moved to April 7, since most saints are commemorated on the day of their death–the day of their entrance into eternal life. It has the rank of Memorial (which gets downgraded to Optional Memorial in Lent–and eliminated when it falls in Holy Week or the Octave of Easter). Hence, we see this commemoration in our missalettes this year for April 7, with the rank of “Optional Memorial”.
However…in the proper calendar of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, this date remains May 15, and it would be a “Proper Solemnity”. (Just like the ‘Optional Memorial” of St. Patrick on March 17 is a “Proper Solemnity” in the Archdiocese of New York.). My guess is that they opted to keep the traditional date to avoid conflicts with Holy Week and the Octave of Easter.
Kevin Walsh ’80
[JR: Wow, that's a message full. Didn't realize it was a PhD level topic. Glad I didn't take all those beating to lean 15 May for no reason at all. Only to have it change. :-) Guess it couldn't be too simple, then us fat old white guy injineers wouldn't have anything left to learn. Thanks.]
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