Following the Vatican’s clarification in September on the Immaculate Conception solemnity, Bishop Anthony B. Taylor affirmed that the holy day of obligation will be celebrated in the Diocese of Litle Rock Monday, Dec. 9.
The solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, which commemorates Mary’s preservation from original sin from the moment she was conceived, is observed annually Dec. 8 as a holy day of obligation.
However, this year the feast coincides with the Second Sunday of Advent, which in the ranking of liturgical celebrations takes precedence. As a result, the observance of the solemnity has been transferred to Dec. 9.
In a letter to be read at all Masses Nov. 30-Dec. 1, Bishop Taylor said, “In Arkansas, the obligation remains. As with any holy day of obligation, individual priests can exempt individual persons from the obligation for a just reason, but there will be no blanket exemption of the diocese or individual parishes here. One reason is that this feast is the patronal feast of the United States, and our painfully divided country is in need of more prayer and more help from the Blessed Mother’s intercession than ever before.”
The Vatican’s Dicastery for Legislative Texts affirmed that the obligation to attend Mass on the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception still stands. In a Sept. 4 letter of clarification to Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki of Springfield, Ill. — who chairs the U.S. Conference of Catholic bishops’ canonical affairs and church governance committee — the dicastery said that “the feast must be observed as a day of obligation on the day to which it is transferred.”
The letter caught a number of dioceses off guard, given that the USCCB had, in prior years, interpreted such transfers as excluding the obligation.
As a result, several bishops invoked a provision in canon law, the Catholic Church’s primary legislative text, enabling them to “suppress” certain holy days of obligation to accommodate the pastoral needs of their areas.
Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago issued an Oct. 22 decree, a copy of which was obtained by The Pillar, stating that “the obligation linked to the feast of the Immaculate Conception, which has been transferred to Monday, Dec. 9, 2024, is hereby suppressed in the Archdiocese of Chicago.”
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia reported that Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez had similarly dispensed the faithful from the obligation to attend Mass on Dec. 9 in its “parishes, institutions and religious communities,” citing “the shortness of time to instruct the faithful” on the Vatican’s September directive, and “to ease their consciences over properly observing this obligation.”
In his decree of dispensation, Bishop W. Shawn McKnight of Jefferson City, Mo., wrote, “Our diocese is rural with many of our parish priests serving multiple parishes. Since the offering of vigil Masses will not be possible for the holy day this year, and with the canonical limitation of a priest celebrating no more than three Masses on a day of precept, the scheduling challenges only add to the difficulty imposed by this obligation.”
Among other dioceses in which the feast will not be a holy day of obligation are the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis; the Diocese of Lansing, Mich.; the Diocese of San Jose, California; and the Diocese of Scranton, Pa.
However, some U.S. bishops, including Bishop Taylor, have retained the solemnity as a holy day of obligation, including Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, Va.; Bishop Edward C. Malesic of Cleveland; Bishop James R. Golka of Colorado Springs, Colo.; and Bishop James D. Conley of Lincoln, Neb.
The mystery of Mary’s sinless conception, which the faithful have honored in some form from at least the seventh century, was officially proclaimed as doctrine by Pope Pius IX in his 1854 apostolic constitution “Ineffabilis Deus.”
Holy days of obligations for 2025
Jan. 1: Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God
Aug. 15: Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Dec. 8: Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Dec. 25: Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord
Because it falls on a Saturday, the Solemnity of All Saints is not a holy day of obligation in 2025.
