1. The Solemnity of Christ the King was instituted after the First World War

After the First World War, amid the rise of communism in Russia, and on the occasion of the 1600th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea (325 AD), Pope Pius XI instituted the feast in 1925 with the encyclical Quas Primas.

2. Their first celebration coincided with Halloween

It was originally established for the last Sunday in October, just before All Saints' Day. When it was first celebrated in 1926, the calendar marked October 31, coinciding with Halloween.

3. Saint Paul VI gave the current name and date to this solemnity

In 1969, Pope Saint Paul VI gave the feast its current title: Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe; and moved it to the last Sunday of the liturgical year.

4. The Solemnity of Christ the King is a response to secularization, atheism and communism

As the world pressed Christians to restrict their religious holidays and be more loyal to governments, Pope Pius XI wrote:

“For if all power in heaven and on earth has been given to Christ our Lord; if men, having been redeemed by His blood, are subject by a new title to His authority; if, finally, this power embraces the whole of human nature, it is clearly seen that there is no faculty in us that is exempt from so high a sovereignty. It is therefore necessary that Christ should reign in the intelligence of man, which, with perfect obedience, should firmly and constantly assent to revealed truths and to the doctrine of Christ; it is necessary that He should reign in the will, which should obey the divine laws and precepts; it is necessary that He should reign in the heart, which, putting aside natural effects, should love God above all things.” (Quas Primas, 34)

5. It is also celebrated by many Protestants

Although it was created by the Catholic Church, some Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists and Presbyterians also celebrate this important holiday.

6. In the Protestant Church of Sweden, this Sunday is called “Sunday of condemnation”

Although officially Protestants in Sweden celebrate this holiday as “The Return of Christ,” its colloquial name is “Doomsday,” since it comes from the fact that the holiday focuses on the Final Judgement and the second coming of Jesus.

7. In Poland there is the largest statue in honor of Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

At 33 metres high (one metre for each year of Jesus' earthly life) and 3 metres wide, the statue of Christ the King in Swlebodzin, north-west Poland, is three metres taller than Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

This story was originally published on November 23, 2018.