What are Holy Days of Obligation?
In the course of the calendar year, Catholics celebrate certain important events in the life of Christ and his Church on days which do not fall on Sunday. These special days, officially called Solemnities, have the same solemn status as Sundays. In the past, Christians celebrated these days as festivals and in Christian cultures people were excused from work; often these feasts were preceded by eight days (an "octave") of prayer, preparation and anticipation. In modern secular society, much of the social and cultural aspects of the original festivals has been lost. Today these special feasts are commonly referred to as days of obligation because the Church expects Catholics who are able to participate in the celebration of Mass on these days.
Holy days originated among early Christian communities as a way to commemorate the lives and deaths of those who were martyred for the faith. Once the Christian religion became legal, celebrations of outstanding individuals and important events grew rapidly and feast days or solemnities were widespread throughout the Christian world. The number multiplied so widely over the centuries that by the middle of the seventeenth century Pope Urban VII banned the creation of new feasts and limited the official number of solemnities to 36. The Code of Canon Law issued in 1917 and revised in 1983 further reduced the number of solemnities in the universal church to 10. The Code gave the local conference of bishops permission to add to, suppress, or transfer some of them to Sundays and recognized the validity of "proper solemnities" particular to specific countries, like the feast of St. Patrick in Ireland, Our Lady of Czestochowa in Poland, and Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico.
In the United States there are six solemnities or holy days of obligation: the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, the Ascension of Jesus, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, the Solemnity of All Saints, the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, and the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas). Two more solemnities, the Epiphany and Corpus Christi, have been permanently transferred to Sundays. The feast days of St. Joseph and Ss. Peter and Paul are not observed as holy days of obligation in the United States.
Many local bishops in the United States have also transferred the Ascension of Jesus and the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin to Sundays. In addition, the bishops have dispensed from the holy day obligation when the Solemnity of Mary, the Assumption and All Saints fall on a Saturday or a Monday.
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Catholics are normally expected to participate in the Eucharist on Sundays and days of obligation unless excused for a serious reason. Dangerous weather conditions, other dangers to one's health such as the Covid virus or flu, frailty caused by age or illness, responsibility for the care of infants, the sick or home bound, and conflicts with work are considered sufficient reason for individuals to excuse themselves from the obligation to celebrate the Eucharist on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation.
Learn More:
> Guide to Holy Days of Obligation in the United States
> Holy Days of Obligation and Opportunity
> How to Celebrate Holy Days
> Who Decided We Should Have Holy Days?
> Understanding Solemnities, Feasts and Memorials
[Last Update: 10.28.24]