ascension thursday holy day of obligation

Ascension thursday holy day of obligation code#

Most Western bishops have disagreed with the demographic arguments. Noting the Mass attendance on that day in many of their territories approaches that of Sundays, they feel the inconvenience put on priests who must offer the additional Masses midweek is not excessive. They point to the strong Scriptural arguments for placing the Ascension exactly 40 days after Easter, and to the significance of Pentecost falling exactly 10 days after the Ascension.

transfer of the Ascension observance has been drawn almost entirely along East-West lines.īishops from the Eastern United States have tended to favor retention of the Ascension Thursday tradition. Throughout these years, moreover, the debate on retention vs. bishops, but until this year, the measure failed to win the two-thirds plurality necessary for approval. Over the last 10 years, however, proposals to transfer the feast of the Ascension to the Sunday after the traditional Thursday observance have enjoyed increasing support among a majority of U.S.

Ascension thursday holy day of obligation code#

Described in two Gospel accounts (Mark 16:19 and Luke 24:50-53) and referenced many times throughout the New Testament (beginning with Acts 1:2), the Ascension is one of the oldest feasts of the Catholic Church, being observed by Christians since well before the fifth century.Īscension Thursday became one of 10 universal holy days of obligation with the publication of the 1917 Code of Canon Law, and until very recently was observed throughout the United States without exception. The feast of the Ascension celebrates, of course, the return of Christ to the Father in heaven 40 days after his resurrection. Vatican approval of the proposal is expected. The plan will be forwarded to the Congregation for Divine Worship and Sacraments for final approval before it can be implemented, likely in 1999. 16, during the conference's annual meeting, by 181 yes votes among eligible Latin-rite bishops in the United States.

The possibility of moving the traditional Ascension Thursday celebration to the following Sunday moved one step closer after the National Conference of Catholic Bishops approved a proposal that would allow individual ecclesiastical provinces to transfer the feast day. That could become a reality in various parts of the United States, depending on the input that the Catholic faithful give their local bishops.