1708. The Conceptio B.V.M. appointed a feast in choro of the universal Church.
1721. Pope Innocent XIII., at the request of the Emperor Charles VI., appoints the Feast of the Name of Jesus to be celebrated on the second Sunday after Epiphany.
1727. Benedict XIII. proposes a further reduction of feast days for Spain.
1741-1747. Commission in Rome, under the presidency of Cardinal Gonzaga, for the improvement of the Breviary. The legends were severely criticised, and much valuable material was collected for future use.
1747. Muratori speaks in favour of the reduction of feast days in his work “Della Regolata Divozione de’ Cristiani.”
1765. Clement XIII. appoints the Feast of the Sacred Heart. M. Gerbert writes his “De Dierum Festorum Numero Minuendo, Celebratione Amplianda. S. Blasian.” Benedict XIV. discusses the same subject (Diss. de Festorum de Præcepto Imminutione. Cf. De Serv. D. Beatif., 4, 2).
1772. New regulations for feast days in Prussia.
1788. Decrease of Catholic festivals in Prussia by Pius VI. This arrangement forms the basis of that now in use.
1802. Concordat with France, by which the feasts falling on week days were reduced to four.