Above: Painting by Francisco Rizi (public domain)
If you’re wondering if the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is a holy day this year, you’re not alone. It’s a question that has been asked of Father Jim Sabak, O.F.M. a lot lately. He directs the Office of Divine Worship for the Diocese of Raleigh and holds a Ph.D. in Sacramental Theology/Liturgy from The Catholic University of America.
Catholics, he shared, are wondering if Sunday covers the Mass obligation since the solemnity, which celebrates Mary’s conception without original sin, is on a Monday in 2024.
All Sundays, of course, are holy days of obligation where the Catholic Church asks its faithful to participate in the Mass and refrain from unnecessary work. In 1991, the bishops of the United States amended the directives on holy days of obligation, that if the day fell on a Saturday or a Monday, the obligation was lifted because of the day’s proximity to Sunday.
But the issue with the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, Father Jim explained, is that Mary is the patroness of the United States. It seemed odd that on such a notable day as a patronal solemnity that Americans would not participate in a Eucharistic liturgy to celebrate the Blessed Mother.
So, earlier this year, Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance, wrote to the Holy See seeking clarification about celebrating the Immaculate Conception if it fell on a Saturday or a Monday.
In a memo to the U.S. bishops, Bishop Paprocki communicated the Dicastery for Legislative Text’s response: “The feast must be observed as a day of obligation because it is a patronal solemnity.” In light of this new directive, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, which falls this year on Monday, Dec. 9, 2024, is to be observed as a holy day of obligation.
This decision, however, does not affect other solemnities, which are days of obligation on the liturgical calendar of the United States. These days: Jan. 1, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God; Aug. 15, the Solemnity of the Assumption; or Nov. 1, the Solemnity of All Saints, if they fall on a Saturday or on a Monday, are still holy days, but not holy days of obligation.