Important Dates in the Lives of Jesus and Mary 

    The Gregorian calendar has 365 days in a year, except in leap year, when an extra day (February 29) is 

added. Leap years typically occur every four years, in any year which is evenly divisible by 4, except in 

centennial years, (years evenly divisible by 100). A centennial year is only a leap years if it is evenly divisible 

by 400. So, the year 1900 is not a leap year, but the year 2000 is a leap year. 

    The Gregorian calendar is a revised version of the Julian calendar, an older calendar system. The Julian 

calendar was created under the direction of Julius Caesar and was used throughout the Roman empire. Several 

centuries after the death of Jesus Christ, when Christianity became the dominant religion, the terms 

A.D.

 and 

B.C.

 were added to the Julian calendar system. 

    The Julian calendar is nearly the same as the Gregorian calendar, except that every four years is a leap year 

without exception. This leads to a year which is, on average, slightly longer than the true solar year (the time it 

takes the earth to revolve around the sun). The result is that the Julian calendar adds 3 days too many every 

400 years, which causes the date of the  Spring Equinox to slowly recede through the calendar. The Julian 

calendar is still used today, primarily by Orthodox Christians. 

    At the time of Christ's life, the Spring Equinox fell on March 22 or 23, by the Julian calendar. Currently, in 

the Julian calendar, the  Spring Equinox falls on March 7 or March 8 GMT. The date given to the  Spring 

Equinox moves approximately 3 days earlier every 400 years in the Julian calendar. By the 1500's the date of 

the Spring Equinox had shifted to March 11. 

    To correct this problem, in 1582, Pope Gregory XIII issued a papal bull which removed ten days from the 

calendar, placing the  Spring Equinox of 1583 at March 21. He also instituted the current formula for 

determining leap years, which has 3 fewer leap years every 400 years. This change effectively keeps the Spring 

Equinox on March 20 in most years, even though in 1583 the Spring Equinox happened to fall early on March 

21. This new calendar system, which is only a slightly modified version of the Julian calendar, was then called 

the Gregorian calendar. The Gregorian calendar first came into use in October of 1582. Currently, the 

Gregorian calendar is 13 days ahead of the Julian calendar. 

    Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich lived during the late 1700's and early 1800's. The Gregorian calendar 

was in use at that time. However, the Julian calendar, not the Gregorian calendar, was in use during the time 

of Christ's life. So then, are the dates which God revealed to Blessed Anne Catherine in her visions dates from 

the Julian or Gregorian calendar? 

   There are a couple of reasons for believing that the dates given by Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich refer to 

the Julian calendar. First, the Julian calendar was in use at the time of Christ's life. The Julian calendar was 

used by the Roman empire, which had conquered and was occupying Israel during the Ministry of Jesus. The 

Gregorian calendar was not in use anywhere until 

A.D.

 1582. 

    Second, Blessed Anne Catherine, in her visions from God, was shown numbers referring to dates as Roman 

numerals (I, II, III, IV, V, etc.), not in Arabic numerals (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.). Yet she understood Arabic 

numerals well and Roman numerals poorly.

62

  (It is remarkable that Catherine Emmerich was not shown 

numbers with our ordinary Arabic figures, with which she was familiar, but never saw anything but Roman 

figures in her visions.) 

63

 God showed Blessed Anne Catherine these numbers as Roman numerals because the 

numbers refer to dates in the Roman (Julian) calendar, not the modern Gregorian calendar. 

Three Requirements for the Year 

    Jesus Christ was crucified on April 7, a Friday, which was also Nisan 14 in the Jewish calendar. Nisan 14 

does not always fall on a Friday, as on the day of Christ's death. Much less often does the date of April 7 in 

the Christian calendar coincide with Nisan 14 in the Jewish calendar. Rarely is the same day a Friday and 

Nisan 14 and April 7. Any proposed year for the Crucifixion must meet these three conditions. 

    Passover does not always begin on a Friday at sunset. The 14th of Nisan can fall on other days of the week, 

such as Monday or Wednesday. There are quite a few years from 

A.D.

 1 to 

A.D.

 50 when Passover fell on a 

Friday. There is some uncertainty as to how the start of Passover in the ancient Jewish calendar was 

determined. (For details, see chapter 17.) In any case, there are only two possible years when Passover could 

have fallen on a Friday and Nisan 14 and April 7   

A.D.

 19 and 

A.D.

 30 (See Appendix I, Chart 1).

 64

30