- Feb 5, 2002
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As the 2024 Immaculate Conception controversy shows, holy days of obligation are important.
The Church’s Code of Canon Law lists ten holy days of obligation in addition to Sunday (1246.1): Christmas, Epiphany, the Ascension, Corpus Christi, January 1 (see below), the Immaculate Conception, the Assumption, St. Joseph, Ss. Peter and Paul, and All Saints.Readers may be surprised that there are so many, and some may be surprised that Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, the Church’s only Fast days, are not among them. However, bishops’ conferences can ask the Holy See to “abrogate” (remove) the obligation to attend Mass on some of these, and most countries have only five or six in practice: Christmas, plus a handful of others with special importance in the country in question.
Continued below.
Must I Go to Mass on Monday?
The 2024 Immaculate Conception controversy in the USA is a good opportunity to re-examine how holy days of obligation work.