Catholic Lectionary Statistics

Catholic Lectionary Statistics May 15, 2011

For some time I wondered what percentage of the Bible is proclaimed throughout the Church’s three-year reading cycle for Sundays and feast days and its two-year cycle for weekday Masses. I knew it would be an enormous and time-consuming task to figure out myself, so I never attempted it. Last Monday I mentioned my curiosity during a talk I gave and today a parishioner sent me a link answering my curiosity.

Until the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, a one-year cycle of two Scripture passages per Mass was in use. In other words, the same readings were repeated each year. This led to a limited exposure to Scripture during the celebration of Mass. The three-year cycle lectionary used today was developed as a result of the Second Vatican Council’s desire to increase the amount of Scripture proclaimed during the liturgy. It pushes priests and deacons to preach on a greater variety of Scripture passages and not just on a limited selection. It has been a great blessing for the Church.

Here are some general statistics on the percentage of the Bible read at Mass. Note the vast percentage differences before and after the Second Vatican Council. If you’d like to get more details, click on the link at the end of the post.


New Testament (Sundays and feast days) 40.9%

New Testament (Sundays, feast days and week days) 71.5%

New Testament Pre-Vatican II (Sundays and feast days) 16.5%


Old Testament (Sundays and feast days) 3.7%

Old Testament (Sundays, feast days and weekdays) 13.5%

Old Testament Pre-Vatican II (Sundays and feast days) 1%


Click here for Lectionary Statistics


Browse Our Archives