Holy Days

What They Are?

As the day of the week on which Christ rose from the dead, Sundays are - through the worldwide Church - the foremost holy day of obligation.

In addition to Sundays, the Church acknowledges special occasions as Holy Days of Obligation on which Catholics celebrate a particular mystery by coming together as a community to celebrate the Mass. There is a degree of variability here depending on several factors: Ireland, for example, includes St. Patrick's Day as a Holy Day because he is their patron saint.

What Time are the Holy Day Masses?

Holy Day Masses are shared with our sister parish, St. Vivian. The times and locations will change for each Holy Day, so please keep your eye on our home page for specifics. (The Mass locations and times will be listed as one of the "mini-articles" on the left side of the screen.) You can also check the bulletin for Mass times.

The Holy Days of Obligation

In the United States, our Holy Days of Obligation are:

-	Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God	January 1*
-	Solemnity of the Ascension	Thursday of the 6th week of Easter**
-	Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary	August 15*
-	Solemnity of All Saints	November 1*
-	Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception	December 8
-	Solemnity of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ	December 25

You can learn more about Holy Days at the site for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

If you're curious about why several of our Holy Days reference Mary, learn more here.

___________________________________________________________________________

*If these Holy Days fall on a Saturday or on a Monday, the obligation to attend Mass is waived.

**Dioceses have permission to transfer this celebration to Sunday, and many do.

Man is composed

of body and soul,

and he needs

these external festivities

so that the sacred rites,

in all their

beauty and variety,

may stimulate him

to drink more deeply

of the fountain

of God's teaching,

that he may make it

a part of himself

and use it with profit

for his spiritual life.

- Pope Pius XI, 20th century

The dates and locations for Holy Day Masses in our Blessed Saints Pastoral Region will be announced in the bulletin and as one of the "features" on our home page. You can also call us at 522.3680.