Catholic holy days of obligation are the days on which we’re expected to go to Mass. This list includes every single Sunday, along with a few additional days. Some feasts, such as Easter, are always celebrated on a Sunday, so they are always obligatory. But when are you supposed to attend Mass outside of Sundays?
What Are the Holy Days of Obligation?
The Code of Canon Law of the Catholic Church says that there are nine holy days of obligation other than Sundays, but it also says that the local conference of bishops may suppress some of them or transfer them to a Sunday.
Bishops in the United States have suppressed the feast of Saint Joseph and the feast of Saints Peter and Paul as holy days of obligation. In addition, the feast of Epiphany is always celebrated on a Sunday in the U.S.
While Bishops lifted the dispensations from the obligation to attend Mass that were in place for much of the Coronavirus pandemic, one’s Sunday and Holy Day obligation can be dispensed for a just cause. This may include physical illness or having an inability to go to Mass, such as being the only caregiver for someone homebound. Catholics are encouraged to use their prudential judgment and guidance from their Priests in determining such a dispensation. You are always welcome to join the Oblates of the Virgin Mary community online at daily and Sunday virtual Masses.
US Catholic Holy Days of Obligation for 2023
There are five holy days of obligation outside of Sundays this year. The following are holy days of obligation in the U.S. for 2023:
- Ascension of Jesus, Thursday, May 18 — Celebrated on the sixth Thursday after Easter Sunday*
- Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Tuesday, August 15*
- Solemnity of All Saints, Wednesday, November 1*
- Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Friday, December 8*
- Christmas, Monday, December 25
*An individual bishop may transfer a holy day to a Sunday. This is the case in most US dioceses with the Ascension of Jesus, which is transferred to the Seventh Sunday of Easter. Check with your local diocese.
Holy Days Calendar
To make sure you don’t miss Mass on these special days, we created a Google Calendar with the Catholic Holy Days of Obligation for 2023. We invite you to add it to your personal Google Calendar by entering your email address in the form below. You’ll also be subscribed to ongoing emails from the Oblates of the Virgin Mary.
And don’t forget to tune into the live stream of our Mass at St. Clement Shrine at 11:00 a.m. ET on Saturday and Sunday and 8:00 a.m. ET every weekday. Follow us on Facebook or subscribe to our YouTube channel to see our daily, Saturday, and Sunday Mass online in your feed.
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Give to the Annual FundExceptions
There are a few exceptions to those obligations. If the Solemnity of Mary, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary or the Solemnity of All Saints falls on a Saturday or Monday, the obligation is often lifted and those feasts are celebrated on that Sunday. In 2022, this can be the case for both the Solemnity of Mary and the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
We’d still encourage you to attend Mass on those days, but it would not be considered a holy day of obligation. If you’re ever unsure, check with your parish or your diocese’s website to see how your diocese approaches a specific holy day of obligation.
Hawaiians also handle Catholic holy days of obligation a bit differently. Since 1992, the only observed holy days of obligation (except Sundays) are the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Christmas.
A Christmas Miracle From An OMV Seminarian
Christmas and the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ holds a special place in the hearts of the faithful as we remember and give thanks for God’s greatest gift. One of our Oblates of the Virgin Mary seminarians, Br. Leland Thorpe, has a special connection to the Christmas story.
“The stable in which Jesus was born was likely dirty, and smelly, and entirely unfitting for a king. A few years ago right at Christmas I was in a place of desolation, and felt like my heart was just like that stable.
But after receiving Communion, the Infant Jesus settled into my heart and made me understand he was glad to be there, just like he was glad to be born in a stable.
Dorothy Day said, ‘I’m so glad that Jesus was born in a stable. Because my soul is so much like a stable. It is poor and in unsatisfactory condition because of guilt, falsehoods, inadequacies and sin. Yet I believe that if Jesus can be born in a stable, maybe he can also be born in me.’
That was the grace I received in that Communion, and it’s continued to be a source of hope and strength for me.”
What Catholic feast days or holy days of obligation are most important to your faith? We’d love to hear your stories and discuss special connections in the comments below.
thank you
Is Oct 31st a important day for the catholic church
No, the next day is important to us. It’s call All Saints Day. It is a day set aside to remember all of our loved ones who have gone before us. We go to Mass then if possible, we visit the graves, clean up around the grave and leave flowers. It may sound sad but it’s not.
Actually both are important the 31st is All Souls’ Day. And the 1st is All Saints’ Day.
No. All Souls day is November 2nd. The 31st is All Hallows Eve
No the 31st is all Hallows Eve (Eve of all Saints) Nov 1 is all Saints and Nov 2 is all souls
All Hallow’s Eve is October 31- Secularized as Halloween. November 2 is All Soul’s Day.
I love Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ loves me.
No! November 2nd is All souls day and not 31st
I believe you are confusing All Saints with All Souls Day
November 1st is All Saints’ Day, we pray for the all the saints who we believe helping us to pray to our Lord. And November 2nd,is All Souls’ Day, we remember our love one, who had gone ahead of us, we pray for their soul, from our own prayers to our Lord to forgive them and my own prayers , I say the prayers of St Gertrude using my Rosary and pray for the soul in purgatory. 5 decades you saved 50,000.00 of soul to be forgiven, in catechism teaching , every night I offer 1 decade or 10 to saved 10,000 soul. (As a Catholic , I pray the St Gertrude prayers for the poor soul in purgatory.) they need prayers for they cannot pray for themself anymore, but in return you an ask them to pray for you.
“ Eternal Father, I offer thee the body and blood of your dear beloved son, ou Lord Jesus Christ )https://youtu.be/wvApxavsh-g
Was Sunday December 8, 2019 considered the feast of the Immaculate conception?
No. In 2019, December 8 was the Second Sunday of Advent, because the Advent Sunday takes priority over the Immaculate Conception, in the liturgical calendar. Hence, the Immaculate Conception was moved to Monday, December 9, but there was no obligation to attend Mass, that day.
Perfect reference article. Thanks, Father.
How come different countries have different holy days? Example: Hawaii only observes two and Japan only one?
different countries can have a few different days of obligation, for example St Patricks’s 17th March will be important in Ireland, 3rd June Uganda Martyrs’ day and these may not be observed in other countries.
Also as mentioned, a Bishop may move the day of obligation in his Diocese to the nearest Sunday while neighboring dioceses keep it on a week day
Thank you for the information on the Holy Days of obligations!
Thank you Louanne. God bless.
So technically on the Holy Name of Mary feast day you were really making your 2nd renewal of vows! I should suggest to my superior doing something like that in our statutes.
Thanks for the comprehensive explanation on the Holy day of obligation.
Does the calendar really need to include the Marian feast of Her Motherhood as a holy day of obligation on Jan 1st? It is so close to Christmas which includes Mary’s role of Motherhood.
If Christ was born in such a dirty place, why am I so proud? This has been a food for thought ringing in my heart since this year’s December. This alone should beat down all our pride and ego. May Christ always be our
guide.
This is a beautiful and humble reasoning! Bless you!
I thought there was more than 6 holiday of obligation…. aside from SUNDAYS ‼️
Dear Fathers and Brothers,
Thank you for sharing your stories!
It brought to mind my own Christmas story and the manger during a very bad storm in my life.
While gazing at Jesus , Mary and Joseph in a dirty manger. The King of Kings and Queen of Heaven and earth in this smelly dirty manger. was beyond my understanding. Thinking of the dirtiness of my own heart due to sin and how Jesus descends into it daily when I receive Him in the Eucharist filled me with a deep desire to clean it up!
Thus, I asked St. Joseph help me to clean up my dirty, smelly manger for Jesus and Mary for Christmas that year and have asked him and our Blessed Mother every day since, to help me with the clean up to receive Jesus.
It is a daily comfort to know Mother Mary and father, Joseph are there as Jesus Humbly lays in my own heart when I receive Him. May Jesus be praised now and forever!!!
Jesus Christ does not come in and out of us. He said, “Heb 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” If you are born again, Jesus Christ will never let you out of His hand, neither will the Father. John 10 27-30
thanks
Thanks a lot for the update on my catholic faith. God bless you in all in Jesus mighty name name.
I can’t download your Holy Days of Obligation calendar to my iPhone. I went to your resource for help In downloading the calendar, but it didn’t help.
Is your calendar still available to download?
Thank you & God Bless!
Chris Walters
What? Easter Sunday is not a Holy Day of Obligation? I am shocked.
Easter Sunday is a Sunday and every Sunday, is an Obligation. So yes, it is a day of Obligation.
John,
Easter Sunday ALWAYS occurs on a Sunday. All Sunday’s ARE days of Obligation to attend Mass! Just put these 2 together – and there you have it. In addition, the Very FIRST paragraph at the top explains all of this.
“Catholic holy days of obligation are the days on which we’re expected to go to Mass. This list includes every single Sunday, along with a few additional days. Some feasts, such as Easter, are always celebrated on a Sunday, so they are always obligatory.”
I believe the list was written in a way that the bulleted days were non-Sunday holy days of obligation. Obvi, all Sundays are holy days on which a Catholic is expected to attend church. Thx
That’s because Easter always falls on Sunday which is already a day of obligation as are all Sundays 🙂
did he say Easter is not a holy day of obligation ?
Thank you this is very useful for me. Love that you have a google calendar 👍🏼
God bless. 🙏🏼
Christ Presence IS in Constancy Within us; Living With Our Lord and Lady… Forever, Under the Shadow of His Wing, we remain in Communion With our Ecce Homo, Alive…
We ARE Living the Sanctifying Wedding Feast of the Lamb; yes we do, in Everlasting Grace and Bliss!
Our Holy Spirit, Jesus and His Holy Mother; Spouse of Spirit, One Holy Divine; Remain Ever Stoked Living Communion IN us!
This article forgets that Corpus Christi is also transferred from Thursday to Sunday after Trinity Sunday in the United States.
I wanted to download the calendar on my phone but didn’t work what do I do
Thank you for making this possible for many and for having an updated electronic version such as the Google Calender that cna be easily downloaded and shared with others.
Vivat Jesus !!!
Are there only 5 Holy days of obligation (besides Sundays of coarse.)?
Why is the immaculate conception of Virgin Mary observed on 12/8 two weeks before the birth of baby Jesus?
Because HER birthday is December 8, 9 months later. She is the one whose immaculate conception we celebrate here.♥️
The Immaculate Conception on December 8th is connected with the celebration of the birth of Mary 9 months later on September 8th. When Mary was conceived in her mother’s womb, God preserved her from all stain of original sin by the grace that Jesus won for us all on the Cross. So when Mary prayed in the magnificat, “my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,” she was aware of God’s saving power, and like the whole Church, came to understand how that salvation comes from Jesus alone.
The Church commemorates the virginal conception of Jesus Christ on Mary’s womb by the power of the Holy Spirit on the feast of the Annunciation, March 25th, 9 months before Christmas.
This past Saturday, I was confirmed. {I now FINALLY got me a {middle name}}. Thank you for posting this information, as I really, Really, REALLY want to be a proper Catholic.
Thanks for the information and feedback. As a Catholic music minister, it can be confusing which Holy days fall on what days as some change every year…….so we can know when to plan the music.
We love Mary’s Feast days as we love the Marion Hymns….Immaculate Mary, Ave Maria, Hail Holy Queen, Sing of Mary Pure and lowly……etc.
Yours in Christ,
Lucy