Dioceses vary on holy day of obligation for Immaculate Conception feast

PHILADELPHIA (OSV News) -- Following the Vatican's clarification in September on the Immaculate Conception solemnity, several U.S. bishops have dispensed the faithful from the obligation to attend Mass that day this year, while fellow bishops in other dioceses have upheld the requirement.

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.

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, Illinois -- 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 -- whose dioceses had already published their annual liturgical instructions noting Mass attendance would not be required Dec. 9 -- 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, Missouri, noted that with the 2024 liturgical instructions already printed, "there is a grave possibility that some Catholics may choose not to attend Mass wrongly thinking there is no obligation. Some Catholic faithful may be scandalized by the lack of participation of other Catholics or may have a disturbed conscience having received conflicting information from official Catholic sources."

In addition, said Bishop McKnight, "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, Michigan; the Diocese of San Jose, California; and the Diocese of Scranton, Pennsylvania.

However, some U.S. bishops have retained the solemnity as a holy day of obligation, including Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia; Bishop Edward C. Malesic of Cleveland; Bishop James R. Golka of Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Bishop James D. Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska.

Despite the dispensation, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia noted on its website that "Archbishop Pérez encourages the faithful to observe the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, patroness of the United States, by attending the celebration of Mass as possible, to pray the rosary or engage in another devotion in honor of the Blessed Mother."

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."