Holy Days of Obligation-Dates and Meanings

Holy days are important feast days in the life of the Catholic community on which, in addition to Sundays, Catholics (who are not sick) are obligated to participate in Mass according to the precepts of the Church. They celebrate an important mystery of the Catholic faith. The number of these holy days can vary from country to country. In the United States, there are six holy days of obligation.

January 1 - Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
This feast, is the most important and oldest of the major feasts of Mary. Mary's Divine Maternity became a universal feast in 1931. Mary is indeed the mother of God and our mother as well. As we begin a new year, it is fitting that we honor and venerate Mary as an essential part of the Catholic Church and of our own lives.

The Ascension of Our Lord - Observed on the Thursday after the sixth Sunday of Easter
This feast is celebrated on the fortieth day after Easter Sunday and commemorates the elevation of Jesus into heaven by his own power in the presence of his disciples. It is narrated in Mark 16:19, Luke 24:51, and in the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles.

August 15 - The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
This is the principal feast of Mary. It has a double purpose: first, the happy departure of Mary from this life and second, the assumption of her body into heaven. Departure from this world and entrance into the next is the same movement in two different expressions Since Mary was preserved free from all stain of original sin, she was spared bodily decay and was taken up body and soul into heaven once her earthly life was over. Thus the Lord has exalted her as Queen over all things.

November 1 - All Saints' Day
This feast honors all the saints, known and unknown. This feast was first celebrated on May 13, 610, when Pope Boniface IV proclaimed the day Feast of All Holy Martyrs in Rome. The intent was to honor all martyrs who were not included in local records. In 835, Pope Gregory IV changed the date and name to November 1 and Feast of All Saints.

December 8 - The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Immaculate Conception of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, is the belief that God preserved Mary from any inclination to sin, the inheritance of original sin passed on to all humankind from Adam and Eve. Even though Mary was conceived in the normal way by her parents, she was preserved from original sin and redeemed by God's grace from the moment of her conception.

December 25 - Christmas, the Nativity of Our Lord
This feast, one of the two major feasts of the liturgical year, celebrates the birth of Jesus. We celebrate the Incarnation, when God became flesh and entered the world.

Please Note: When the following holy days fall on a Saturday or Monday, there is no obligation to attend Mass: January 1; August 15; or November 1. Although the obligation to attend Mass when these three holy days fall on a Saturday or Monday is abolished, parishes are to continue to observe these holy days by scheduling one or more Masses at a convenient time so that people who wish to participate are able to do so.