Collection: The Catholic All Year Marketplace

To celebrate the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, we like to make an edible rosary! This can be accomplished with just about anything: mini muffins or donuts or cereal pieces at breakfast time, nuts or goldfish crackers or dried fruit at snack time, cupcakes or candies for dessert.

My family loves this soup for the feast days of French saints, and it’s always one of the soups I serve at our Lenten Soup and Stations get togethers. To make it more crowd-friendly, I assemble the cheesy crouton topping separately.

This prayer was composed by Pope John Paul II and included in Ecclesia in Oceania, a post-synodal apostolic exhortation published in 2001!

These appetizers can be found in the classic 1888 Victorian cookbook Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management. I can’t resist them for this feast day! The “angels” are shucked oysters in Mrs. Beeton’s, but other recipes use scallops. We prefer the latter since they’re more readily available. “Devils” are usually pitted prunes, but can also be dates

Michaelmas is another of our “featured” family feast days. There’s just so much fun, food, and conversation to be had around the archangels, and specifically about St. Michael’s defeat of the devil.

Any type of tea bag or a combination of teas can be used. Traditional Southern sun tea is usually made with a black tea blend, like Lipton. Herbal teas are also great, though. I’m partial to Raspberry Zinger, myself.

These stained glass cookies are reminiscent of the beautiful stained glass windows at San Chapelle, which is why they’re perfect for the feast of St. Louis IX!

All the saint of the day images for the month of August!

A downloadable activity to use for the feast of Saint Thomas the Apostle on July 3!

A novena to Saint Anne can be prayed for any intention, but her intercession is frequently invoked by those seeking a spouse or hoping for a child.

Saint Anne is one of MANY patron saints of lacemaking, which, I guess, seems complicated enough to warrant that. These cookies, on the other hand, are pretty straightforward. And quite tasty. Almond flour is available in the baking aisle of my local grocery store, but can also be created by pulsing sliced blanched almonds in a food processor until they make a crumbly flour. Lace cookies can be enjoyed as is, or, after cooling, brushed on the bottom with a coat of chocolate.

Saint Brigid is said to have woven rushes (a grass-like plant) into a cross as she helped convert a pagan man upon his deathbed. If you’ve got access to rushes, weave away! Or, if you’re feeling less outdoorsy, we’ve provided pipe cleaners for you instead!

St. Josephine is the patron saint of Sudan, one of the world’s top exporters of peanuts. So why not make Sudanese peanut macaroons? These delicious little bites taste more like meringue than a French macaroon, and capture the sweet and salty history of St. Josephine’s life as a child forced into the slave trade. The horrors she endured are all true. But it’s also true that she found peace and happiness for the last fifty years of her life, through God and forgiveness and service to others and her Catholic faith. St. Josephine, pray for us!

King cake gets eaten for breakfast at our house, so we need a dessert after dinner. And in our family we’re going to be giving up all treats and desserts throughout Lent except for special treats on Sundays and solemnities, so we need to get all that stuff out of the house. To kill both of those Fat Tuesday birds with one stone, we have Boeuf Gras (boof grah), or “fattened ox”, Sundaes.

Apparently, in many European countries, the traditional dinner for the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, was a whole suckling pig. To remind us of motherhood? I guess? That sounds very dramatic, and I’m sure it would make quite an impression on my kids if I were to pull one of those babies (literally) out of the oven while everyone is hanging out watching football. Maybe one of these years I’ll give it a try. In the meantime I think a corn dog is a reasonable approximation!

While other Marian feasts celebrate events in Mary’s life, this feast commemorates the part she played in the mystery of salvation. So, after you attend Mass (today is a holy day of obligation), come home and reflect on the motherhood of Mary as you color this beautiful page!

On the feast of the Immaculate Conception we like to pray the Litany of Loreto which honors Our Lady’s many titles. Find some of those titles in this word search then pray the litany together as a family.

This art print features the piece “The Miraculous Translation of the Body of Saint Catherine of Alexandria to Sinai” by Karl von Blaas. Tradition tells us that after her Martyrdom in Rome St. Catherine’s body was carried by angels to the top of Mount Sinai where it was discovered hundreds of years later by the monks who lived in a nearby monastery. Display this print all month long and be inspired by Saint Catherine’s heroic virtue!

Saint Martin de Porres gave special care to the animals that visited the Dominica priory where he lived. Color this picture of Saint Martin with his animal friends while you tell his story to your kiddos!

Inspired by St. Teresa’s writing on the interior castle, this historical English dessert, traditionally called “Castle Pudding”, is steamed in the microwave for a quick, tasty dessert, perfect for the fall!

Celebrate Our Lady Queen of Angels by displaying your holy card and praying the prayer on the back!

Luke 8:1-3 tells us that Mary Magdalene was healed by Jesus of seven evil spirits. As a reminder of that, we like to include 7UP on our feast day table. And, because my mom was raised in the South, I know that an excellent way to include more 7UP at a party is with a traditional Southern 7UP pound cake. This recipe is adapted from a 7UP company promotional recipe pamphlet, published in 1953.

This Vietnamese-style chicken recipe is the perfect mix of sweet and tangy and is popular with all ages. Serve over steamed rice.

A downloadable calendar to use with your July Medallions!

Learn more about Saint John the Baptist by reading about him in the bible, simply turn your spinner to reveal a new verse about his life!

Bring out this stained glass style coloring page on June 22nd. Your kids can color as you read the story of these two brave men who were imprisoned and martyred for standing up to the king!

Decorate for the month of the Sacred Heart with this banner which includes all of the Hearts of the Holy Family!

Show some love for this relatively new Marian feast day by praying this prayer composed in her honor by Pope Francis in 2013.

It’s probably my favorite dessert, so any excuse for crème brûlée is a good one in my book. The feast day of any French saint will do, but somehow the torching part makes it seem perfect for Saint Joan. Also, the fact that multiple nineteenth-century recipe books refer to crème brûlée as “Trinity Cream” or “Trinity Burnt Cream” means we’d be SILLY not to make this amazing dessert part of our Trinity Sunday celebration. (According to recipe historians—a real job, apparently—the name “Trinity” Cream is a reference to its three main ingredients: cream, sugar, and egg yolks.) This is a slightly fussier recipe than I’m up for on an every-day basis, but that’s the beauty of liturgical living for me. I can get motivated to do a fancy feast day meal for an important solemnity every month or two. THAT I can manage. And Crème Brûlée/Trinity Cream can be made ahead of time, which is always a bonus. But, just in case it’s helpful . . . last time I checked, they sell little individual crème brûlées in the freezer section at Trader Joe’s.

Use this fun activity to share the story of Mary's visit to her cousin Elizabeth (this feast is on May 31st) with your kids!

I was pretty excited to learn that there was in fact a traditional pastry meant to be eaten on Good Friday, and considered so Catholic that their sale was forbidden by decree of Elizabeth I (not a fan of Catholics). When I first looked up the recipe, they seemed awfully sweet and tasty for such a somber day. However, my love of tradition won out and now, I actually think their deliciousness adds to the mortification of having them for a collation. We WANT to eat ten of them, but we only eat two (and they are small). If you prefer, you can omit the icing cross and instead cut a cross into the top of each bun before baking.

In this booklet, you'll find prayers, readings, hymns, and reflections for Easter Mass during the Day!

This classic British pub meal makes for a tasty celebration of St. George of Merrie England. “Bangers” is slang for sausages. The “bang” comes from the fact that during WWII when meat rations were low, sausages had to be made with other inexpensive fillers like rusk or breadcrumbs and a large ratio of water that would result in the sausages bursting with a “bang” when fried. True English bangers are a whitish pork sausage with a tasty smoothness that my family really enjoys. We can sometimes find them at our local grocery store. In a pinch, any white pork sausage will do!

Our quick and easy version of this fancy Italian dessert omits the raw eggs traditionally found in tiramisu but, really, you won’t miss them! It requires no baking, comes together in about fifteen minutes, and is sure to impress. (Allow a few hours for it to set in the fridge before serving.) Kids can definitely help. This recipe uses crispy lady finger cookies as the base. These can be found in the cookie aisle of many grocery stores, ordered online, or made from scratch. If you have access to actual espresso, you can use that, or substitute strong coffee or decaf.

The relics of Saint Mark took an exciting journey from Alexandria, Egypt to Venice, Italy. Help them find their way through the maze!

Saint Gianna Molla studied for her medical degree in Milan, and later specialized in pediatrics at the University of Milan. This restaurant-quality Chicken Milanese recipe also includes a tasty arugula and citrus salad, sure to get a doctor’s approval, and comes together in only 30 minutes, which any working mom can appreciate.

Your calendar medallions for the month of April!