Holy Days of Obligation

On December 13, 1991 the members of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops of the United States of American made the following general decree concerning holy days of obligation for Latin rite Catholics:

1. January 1, the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
2. Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter, the solemnity of the Ascension
3. August 15, the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
4. November 1, the solemnity of All Saints
5. December 8, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception
6. December 25, the solemnity of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ [list numbers are not in original]

This decree of the Conference of Bishops was approved and confirmed by the Apostolic See by a decree of the Congregation for Bishops (Prot. N. 296/84), signed by Bernardin Cardinal Gantin, prefect of the Congregation, and dated July 4, 1992.

It should be noted that the Ascension is celebrated on Sunday in many dioceses of the US (in accordance with a decision to allow this transfer), reducing the practical number to 5 in many places.

Eastern Churches sui iuris

In the Eastern Catholic Churches, besides Sunday, the following are Holy Days: Christmas, Epiphany (Jan. 6), Ascension, Dormition (Aug. 15) and Apostles Peter and Paul (Jun. 29). Like the Code of Canon Law, the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches provides that each Eastern Church may have particular law Holy Days and also, with the approval of the Holy See, suppress some on the universal list.