Who we are our bishop our history our impact our pope. The solemnity of mary, the mother of god, sunday, the octave of the nativity, wednesday, january 1, 2020 friday, january 1, 2021 is a holy day of obligation. In addition to sunday, the days to be observed as holy days of obligation in the latinrite dioceses of the united states, in conformity with canon 1246, are as follows. For practicing catholics around the world, observing holy days of obligation is part of their sunday duty, the first of the precepts of the church. Since 1967, january 1st has been designated world day for peace. Holy days of obligation diocese of madison madison, wi. Jun 11, 20 the code of canon law spells out when the holy days of obligation are on the churchs universal calendar. This covers the bulk of instances in which you will find holy days of obligation dispensed for latinrite catholics in the united states. This holy day is celebrated on the 7th sunday of easter in the archdiocese of chicago. Massachusetts, rhode island, connecticut, new york, new jersey, pennsylvania, and nebraska.
What are holy days of obligation in the catholic church. Holydays of obligation, part i canon law made easy. In the united states, these holy days of obligation are january 1. The number of days of obligation vary from year to year, because the precept to attend mass is lifted abrogated if any of the following days. Nov 28, 2009 holy days of obligation are major feasts of the churchs year on which in addition to sundays catholics are obliged to go to mass.
The holy days of obligation for latin rite catholics are indicated in canon 1246 of the 1983 code of canon law. Liturgical year holy days of obligation, solemnities and. The solemnity of the assumption of the blessed virgin mary, saturday, august 15, 2020 is not a holy. First of all, the sunday obligation is stressed, as sunday is the day on which traditionally the easter mystery is celebrated. Although all sundays are sanctified in this way, the term holy days usually refers to other feasts that must be observed in the same manner as sunday the number of such days has varied greatly, since bishops had the right to institute new feasts. This day is known as new years day since the day marks the beginning of the year.
But of these five days, three of them have an exceptional quality. Holydays of obligation, part i canon law made easycanon. In addition, the feast of epiphany is always celebrated on a sunday in the u. The catholic holy days of obligation are our most important feast days they are the principal liturgical feasts that honor the mysteries of the lord, the virgin mary, and the saints. Easter, are always celebrated on sundays, so they are always obligatory.
Holy days of obligation catholic education resource center. January 1, the solemnity of mary, mother of god thursday of the sixth week of easter, the solemnity of the ascension. Holy days of obligation are major feasts of the churchs year on which in addition to sundays catholics are obliged to go to mass. Holy day of obligation wikipedia republished wiki 2. And they say that it was the 15th of the month tybi of. Whenever january 1, the solemnity of mary, mother of god, or august 15, the solemnity of the assumption, or november 1, the solemnity of all saints, falls on a. This decree of the conference of bishops was approved and confirmed by the apostolic see by a decree of the congregation. Depending on your faith, the number of holy days per year varies. Holy days of obligation catholic education resource.
When this holy day falls on a saturday or monday, obligation to attend mass is suspended. Sep 17, 2010 whenever january 1, the solemnity of mary, mother of god, or august 15, the solemnity of the assumption, or november 1, the solemnity of all saints, falls on a saturday or on a monday, the precept to attend mass is abrogated. The solemnity of mary, mother of god january 1 holy. Bishops in the united states have suppressed the feast of saint joseph and the feast of saints peter and paul as holy days of obligation.
Every sunday is a holy day of obligation in the sense that catholics are required to attend mass every sunday. Mary, mother of god holy day of obligation wednesday, january 6, 2021. The solemnity of the blessed virgin mary, the mother of god, january 1, is a day of obligation. Corpus christi resource book 2020 year a bilingual english spanish pdf. Holy days of obligation 2018 in the dioceses of the us. The catholic holy days of obligation beginning catholic. In addition to sunday, the days to be observed as holy days of obligation in the. The holy see shares the profound aspirations of man for peace.
Whenever january 1, the solemnity of mary, mother of god, or august 15, the solemnity. Holy days of obligation, or holy days of opportunity. Catholic americans may find parts of the list surprising. In 1931, pope pius xi extended the feast to the entire church, and in 1974, pope paul vi removed the feast of the circumcision of christ from the liturgical calendar and replaced it with the feast of the solemnity of mary, mother of god, bringing marys feast day back to the first day of the year. Holy days of obligation saint patrick catholic church. In countries where they are not holy days of obligation, three of the ten feast days listed above are assigned to a sunday as their proper day. Please note whenever january 1, the solemnity of mary, mother of god, or august 15, the solemnity of the assumption, or november 1, the solemnity of all saints, falls on a saturday or on a monday, the obligation to attend mass is lifted. Mary new years day, ascension day, the assumption of the blessed virgin mary august 15, all saints day november 1, feast, day or period of time set. In the united states, new years day is one of six holy days of obligation that are observed. Jun 25, 2019 the observance of holy days of obligation is part of the sunday duty, the first of the precepts of the church, and are listed in canon 1246 of the 1983 code of canon law.
Wednesday, january 1, 2020 solemnity of mary, the holy mother of god, holy day of obligation sunday, january 5, 2020 solemnity of the epiphany of the lord sunday, january 12, 2020 the baptism of the lord wednesday, february 26, 2020 ash wednesday it is a common misconception that ash wednesday is a holy day of obligation. Today the church celebrates the solemnity of mary, mother of god, our ladys greatest title. Why is january 1 sometimes a holy day of obligation and. Mary the mother of god january 1, the assumption of mary august 15, all saints day november 1, the immaculate conception december 8, and christmas december 25. Solemnity of mary, january 1 ascension of christ, 40 days after easter. List of catholic holy days of obligation in the united states what are the catholic holy days of obligation.
The holy days of obligation for latin catholics are indicated in canon 1246 of the 1983 code of canon law. A brief history and explanation of the observance of holy days in the united states. The solemnity of mary, the holy mother of god is a feast day of the blessed virgin mary under the aspect of her motherhood of jesus christ, whom christians see as the lord, son of god. Octave of christmas and solemnity of mary, mother of god. Catholics know that these are the most important days of the year. If the date is on saturday or monday, there is no obligation for that year. The reason january 1st is a holy day of obligation is because it is the solemnity of mary, the holy mother of god.
January 1mary, mother of god fortieth day after easter ascension august 15 assumption of. The quality of peace has always been invoked throughout history by all men, and especially during violent and destructive times of war. Jan 01, 2018 january 1st is a day of obligation if you live in canada. The number of additional days of obligation varies between countries, from 1 in hongkong to 10 in vatican. The history of the solemnity of mary, the mother of god in the early centuries of the church, once christmas began to be celebrated as its own feast on december 25 having originally been celebrated with the feast of the epiphany, on january 6, the octave eighth day of christmas, january 1, took on a special meaning. It is celebrated by the roman rite of the catholic church on 1 january, the octave 8th day of christmastide.
In accord with the provisions of canon 1246 2 of the code of canon law, the usccb has ruled. In the netherlands, the bishops conference decreed that, with effect from 1 january 1991, the feasts of the assumption and all saints, each of which it had. Sunday is the day on which the paschal mystery is celebrated in light of the apostolic tradition and is to be observed as the foremost holy day of obligation in the universal church. Christians of byzantine rite and of all west syriac and east syriac rites celebrate mary as mother of god on 26 december and the coptic church does so on 16 january. The holy days of obligation for the national catholic church on which all the faithful are bound to hear, and all priests to celebrate holy mass are. A look at catholic holy days a really cool thing about catholicism beliefs is that many days of the calendar year are a cause for celebration. Holy days of obligation archdiocese of galveston houston. The epiphany of the lord is celebrated on 6 january, unless, where it is not observed as a holy day of obligation, it has been assigned to the sunday occurring between 2 and 8 january. Dec 18, 2019 mary, mother of god is january 1 and is a holy day of obligation. The assumption of the blessed virgin mary, august 15. The anglican communions book of common prayer liturgy celebrates this day as the circumcision of christ.
The observance of holy days of obligation is part of the sunday duty, the first of the precepts of the church, and are listed in canon 1246 of the 1983 code of canon law. It is a holy day of obligation and masses will be offered at 8am, 10am, 12 noon. January 1 is an important day in the churchs liturgy. Last year, january 1 was not a holy day of obligation, but this year it was. Liturgical calendar roman catholic archdiocese of atlanta. The solemnity of mary, holy day of obligation, january 1st. Holy days of obligation, in the roman catholic church, religious feast days on which catholics must attend mass and refrain from unnecessary work. It is celebrated by the roman rite of the catholic church on 1 january, the. Popular piety has not been oblivious to this initiative of the holy see. The 1969 revision of the general roman calendar made the date to some extent variable, stating.
The obligation to attend mass is addressed in canon 1246. The byzantine empire began its numbered year on september 1. In my diocese, january 1, the solemnity of mary, mother of god, was not a holy day of obligation. January 1st the solemnity of mary holy day of obligation.
January 1 is the first day of the year in the gregorian calendar. During the middle ages under the influence of the catholic church, many countries in western europe decided to move the start of the year to one of several important christian festivals december 25 the nativity of jesus, march 1, march 25 the annunciation, or even easter. Ascension thursday is a holy day of obligation in the entirety of the following states. Dec 16, 2019 bishops in the united states have suppressed the feast of saint joseph and the feast of saints peter and paul as holy days of obligation. Basically, its one of the only days that bishops of both english speaking and french speaking dioceses could agree on. Holy day of obligation thursday, december 24, 2020.
Dec 29, 2017 in accord with the 1991 decision of the usccb, this day is kept as a holy day of obligation, binding the faithful to attend mass. The feast of mary, the mother of god 40 days after easter sunday. Mary, mother of god holy day of obligation january 1. Six holy days of obligation are celebrated in the united states. Every sunday is a holy day of obligation, as are six other days throughout the year. Whenever january 1, the solemnity of mary, mother of god, or august 15, the solemnity of the assumption, or november 1, the solemnity of all saints, falls on a saturday or on a monday, the precept to attend mass is abrogated. In the dioceses of the united states, the following feasts are considered holy days of obligation. All sundays of the year january 1 the feast of the circumcision ash wednesday day of fasting and abstinence march 1. Homepage mission statement official calendar archdiocesan history statistics search. Holy days of obligation in the catholic church dummies.
This was decided by the national conference of catholic bishops of the united states of america on december, 1991 and is effective as of january 1, 1993. In the united states, christmas and the immaculate conception are always days of obligation, no matter what day of the week they fall on. Holy days of obligation are days other than sundays on which catholics are required to participate in the mass, the primary form of worship. A holy day of obligation is a day on which christians are required to go to mass and refrain from servile work, unless one has a legitimate excuse such as caring for infants, providing important social services, a contageous or debilitating illness, etc cf. The history of the solemnity of mary, the mother of god. In addition to sunday, the days to be observed as holy days of obligation in the latin rite dioceses of the united states of america, in conformity with canon 1246, are as follows. Christmas day holy day of obligation friday, january 1, 2021. The history of how it came to be so is interesting.
January 1st is a day of obligation if you live in canada. But the canon also lists those dates which, in addition to all sundays, are holydays of obligation. In the united states, these holy days of obligation are. On holy days of obligation, catholics are obliged to participate in mass. In november 1991, the national conference of catholic bishops approved a motion that whenever january 1, the solemnity of mary, mother of god, or august 15, the solemnity of the assumption, or november 1, the solemnity of all saints, falls on a saturday or on a monday, the. Around 200, clement of alexandria wrote that, but the followers of the early christian gnostic religious teacher basilides celebrate the day of his baptism too, spending the previous night in readings. Nearly every day marks the feast day of a saint a day when that saints holy life and deeds are remembered. Nativity of our lord, jesus christ christmas holy days of obligation sometimes get complicated, though. The solemnity of the assumption of the blessed virgin mary, saturday, august 15, 2020 is not a holy day of obligation. In the united states, we celebrate the following holy days of obligation. Epiphany may have originated in the greekspeaking eastern half of the roman empire as a feast to honor the baptism of jesus. January 1, 2018 is the solemnity of mary, mother of god. February 14, 1969, subsequently amended by the holy see, and the proper calendar for the dioceses of the united states of america, approved by the united states conference of catholic bishops.
Please join us in celebrating the solemnity of mary, the holy mother of god on january 1, 2019. The details can be a little bewildering though, so here is a complete, uptodate list of the holy days of obligation in the united states. Christmas eve vigil masses may be celebrated after 4. Although all sundays are sanctified in this way, the term holy days usually refers to other feasts that must be observed in the same manner as sunday. Sunday, on which by apostolic tradition the paschal mystery is celebrated, must be observed in the universal church as the primordial holy day of obligation. All sundays of the year january 1 the feast of the circumcision ash wednesday day of fasting and abstinence march 1 st david, patron of wales march 17.
The solemnity is a holy day of obligation in areas that have not abrogated it. Thursday of the sixth week of easter, the solemnity of the ascension. Why is monday, december 25, 2017 a holy day of obligation. There are 364 days remaining until the end of the year 365 in leap years.
For example, in 1995 christmas fell on monday and was a holy day with the obligation to attend mass. Corpus christi resource book 2020 year a bilingual englishspanish pdf. Holy days of obligation archdiocese of indianapolis. The holydays of obligation vary from country to country, but in the. Jun 25, 2019 the history of the solemnity of mary, the mother of god in the early centuries of the church, once christmas began to be celebrated as its own feast on december 25 having originally been celebrated with the feast of the epiphany, on january 6, the octave eighth day of christmas, january 1, took on a special meaning. In fact, the very first thing youll get if you sign up is information about what pope benedict says about the book of. Mary, mother of god always celebrated january 1, but if this occurs on a saturday or a monday there is no obligation to go to mass. The solemnity of all saints, november 1, is a day of obligation unless it falls on a saturday or a monday. In 2020, the feast of the assumption falls on saturday, august 15. The epiphany to the sunday that falls between 2 and 8 january. Mary, mother of god is january 1 and is a holy day of obligation. They are also to abstain from such work or business that would inhibit the worship to be given to god, the joy proper to the lords day, or the due relaxation of mind and body the code of canon law 1247.
1495 79 1378 246 1161 256 740 888 473 362 1310 112 1268 161 1287 1592 783 984 233 591 464 1499 601 596 242 738 898 337 857 791 906 1057 1067 588 46 627 781 233 1242 679 808 1216 248 1477 1285 55