Jus novum (c. 1140-1563) Jus novissimum (c. 1563-1918) Jus codicis (1918-present) Other Sacraments Sacramentals Sacred places Sacred times Supra-diocesan/eparchal structures Particular churches Juridic persons Philosophy, theology, and fundamental theory of Catholic canon law Clerics Office Juridic and physical persons Associations of the faithful Pars dynamica (trial procedure) Canonization Election of the Roman Pontiff Academic degrees Journals and Professional Societies Faculties of canon law Canonists Institute of consecrated life Society of apostolic life In the Catholic Church, holy days of obligation or precepts are days on which the faithful are expected to attend Mass, and engage in rest from work and recreation (i.e., they are to refrain from engaging in work or activities that hinder the worship owed to God), according to the third commandment.
The expectation is attached to the holy day, even if transferred to another date, as sometimes happens in the Roman Rite.
Sunday, on which—by apostolic tradition—the paschal mystery is celebrated, must be observed in the universal Church as the primordial holy day of obligation.
With the motu proprio of 2 July 1911, Supremi disciplinae, Pope Pius X reduced the number of such non-Sunday holy days from 36 to 8: the above 10 dates (1 January was then the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ) minus the feasts the Body and Blood of Christ, and Saint Joseph.
Today too, episcopal conferences have availed themselves of the authority granted to them to reduce such days to the ten mentioned above.
In the Netherlands, the bishops conference decreed that, with effect from 1 January 1991, the feasts of the Assumption and All Saints, each of which it had previously decided to celebrate on the following Sunday, were to be of obligation as regards Mass, but not for abstaining from work.
[14] No formal legislative norm of the Episcopal Conference of Belgium exists in which the holy days of obligation are listed.
[23]) According to a 1984 decision of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, holydays which fall on a Saturday or a Monday (with the exception of Christmas) are transferred to the adjacent Sunday.
On 17 November 2016 meeting in Leeds, the Bishops' Conference determined that the Epiphany and the Ascension should be celebrated on their official days, or on the adjacent Sunday when 6 January is a Saturday or a Monday.
This decision was approved by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments and became effective from 3 December 2017.
Attendance at the liturgical service on Good Friday, a public holiday, is also generally observed, although it is not a holy day of obligation.
It is only celebrated as a holy day of obligation on Thursday in the ecclesiastical provinces of Boston, Hartford, New York, Omaha, and Philadelphia, as well as by members of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter.
[43] In this case, as of the Vatican's 4 September 2024 letter, the precept to attend Mass is transferred to December 9 as well.
[6][7] Under the 1960 Code of Rubrics, still observed by some in accordance with Summorum Pontificum, the feast of the Immaculate Conception has precedence even over an Advent Sunday and is not transferred.
[45] The Ecclesiastical Province of Hanoi observes the following four holy days of obligation, known as the "Four Seasons" (Vietnamese: Tứ Quý):[46] The Ecclesiastical Provinces of Huế and of Ho Chi Minh City only observe one recurring holy day of obligation, Christmas.
Individual dioceses may observe additional holy days of obligation on an ad hoc basis.
[49] The faithful of the Eastern Catholic Churches "are bound by the obligation to participate on Sundays and feast days in the Divine Liturgy or, according to the prescriptions or legitimate customs of their own Church sui iuris, in the celebration of the divine praises.