Feast of Immaculate Conception Transferred, But Remains a Holy Day of Obligation

The feast of the Immaculate Conception, Dec. 8, falls on a Sunday this year. Therefore, the solemnity will be transferred to Monday, Dec. 9, and celebrated as a holy day of obligation, according to the Diocese of Baton Rouge.

Father Tom Ranzino, director of the Office of Worship for the Diocese of Baton Rouge, said in the United States the holy days and their observance are established by the United States Conference of Bishops (USCCB).

“In the United States, holy days of obligation are officially given to literally interrupt the ordinariness of life and have the people connect and collect for a particular feast of the life of Christ or Mary that is not on a Sunday,” stated Father Ranzino.

The USCCB ruled in 1993 when a feast day falls on a Sunday, it is typically moved to the following Monday. The obligation to attend Mass on that day is normally abrogated, or lifted, according to Father Ranzino. Catholic faithful are not required to attend Mass on the transferred date because they attended Mass on the day the solemnity originally fell on.

This ruling does not apply to Christmas and the feast of the Immaculate Conception, which have an obligation to attend a separate Mass, even if they fall on a Sunday. The Feast of the Immaculate Conception is one of the highest-ranking holy days in the United States because Mary, under the title of the Immaculate Conception, is the patroness of the nation.

Bishop Thomas Paprocki, the chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance, wrote in July to the Holy See seeking clarification on whether an obligation transfers when the feast itself is transferred.  

The Vatican confirmed that the Mass obligation remains. In an Oct. 10 memo to the U.S. Bishops, Bishop Paprocki communicated the ruling he received from the Vatican’s Dicastery for Legislative Texts: “the feast must be observed as a day of obligation on the day to which it is transferred.” 

In 2023, a similar situation occurred when Christmas (Dec. 25) fell on a Monday, according to Father Ranzino. Catholics were obligated to attend separate Masses to meet both the Sunday and Christmas obligations; there was no “two-in-one” Mass attendance to meet both obligations.

The ruling brings up the question, “How does this impact the other solemnities that fall on a Sunday?

Father Ranzino pointed out that the other solemnities of Mary, Mother of God (Jan.1), the Assumption (Aug. 15), and All Saints (November 1) are not impacted by the recent ruling. There is no danger that their date will have to be transferred because there is no potential for them conflicting with a liturgical day of higher rank in their respective seasons.
 
 “I think the bishops are affirming that we live in a culture where the observance of time seems oppressive, demanding, gone before you know it,” said Father Ranzino. “We have to exist in that kind of world. But at the same time, the bishops for some situations are asking Catholics to celebrate the liturgy as part of their commitment as exactly a statement about wanting to taste heaven while on Earth. The closest way of doing that is celebrating the liturgy of the Eucharist.”

He added, “What the bishops are saying to us is, ‘We know this is hard, we know this is a commitment. But we encourage you to do your best to come to the Lord and of course be rewarded for honoring the Blessed Mother.’”