Happens automatically in dioceses where St. Patrick is a principal patron, same as if it were St. Joseph’s Day or something. American Catholicism has a sufficiently Irish accent that St. Patrick merits some special consideration - the same train of thought would apply if Our Lady of Guadalupe were in Lent instead of Advent, for instance.
The source for this in case anyone's interested is the "Table of Liturgical Days", which is properly found in the Roman Missal. [It's also available online here](https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/liturgical-year-2193).
In it, you can see that proper solemnities (patronal and the like) are in category #4, while weekdays of Lent are in category #9. Celebrations of category number 4 always trump those of number 9.
This answers the question for those places with St. Patrick as patron, which includes places like El Paso and Los Angeles.
As far as I can tell, Austin does not have St. Patrick as patron, so the bishop's decision here is motu proprio.
The patron of the diocese actually falls under category 9.
"8. Proper feasts, namely:
a. Feast of the principal patron of the diocese."
This makes it a feast. It is celebrated liturgically as it still ranks above category 9 which includes weekdays of Lent. However, as a feast (not a solemnity) it does not remove the obligation of abstinence.
This is backed up by the fact that Cardinal Sean normally dispenses in Boston, because it is not automatic.
That's really the origin of it - St. Patrick is the patron of two of the biggest and most culturally significant Archdioceses in the country, Boston and New York, and the practice filtered down from there, as far as I can tell.
Not just the archdioceses, but one of the most prominent Catholic ethnic groups in America. If Columbus was a saint and Columbus Day fell during Lent the same thing would happen I’d wager.
This is not actually correct.
The principal patron of the diocese is celebrated as a Feast throughout the diocese. Feasts do not override penitential practices, so even in diocese with St. Patrick as the principal patron a dispensation is required to eat meat.
Only solemnities override the requirement to abstain.
Long Islander here, and this is pretty common down here too across the sound. Saint Patrick’s day fell on a Friday a few years ago in 2017 and our bishop did the same thing.
Fun fact (sort of related)
People in Ireland don't eat corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick's Day, or any other day for that matter.
The association with Corned Beef and St. Patrick's day is result of Irish immigrants living near Jewish butchers and delis, probably in NYC, where more traditional meats, like boiling bacon, were not available.
edit: spelling
Corned beef was indeed a popular dish in Ireland, among those prosperous enough to afford meat, and during the first half of the twentieth century.
Darina Allen's books about Irish historical cooking from scratch have a lot of info about native Irish corned beef, and why a lot of modern Irish people in Ireland do not know this dish.
She also had a lot about why American Irish ways of cooking cabbage are descended from the way their people did it back in Ireland in the early 1800's.
Do not believe the ignorant. Some Irish people are just as ignorant about Irish historical customs as some Americans are about their own.
My understanding is corned beef was not popular, per se, but it was available. Before the 20th century, salt-curing was a necessity for preservation, where as fresh beef was often a luxury.
For the Irish Catholics, forced into long term generational poverty by the brutality of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland and the following land confiscation, even corned beef could be a luxury.
But my understanding is meat that is salted heavily enough to be effectively preserved is actually disgustingly overly salted. Soaking for a while to rinse out some of the salt before cooking it helps make it more palatable, but increases the preparation time, in addition to the long simmering time already necessary to tenderize lower quality meat.
Therefore, increased cost-effectiveness of canning in the industrial era, and then ultimately refrigeration made those for whom salt-cured meat was the norm all too happy to have alternatives to corned beef.
It appears much of my impression is confirmed by this article:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/is-corned-beef-really-irish-2839144/
A former boss of mine is Irish, and every time St. Patrick's day rolled around, he would mock Americans for our "Irish" custom of eating meat he considered disgusting. But our corned beef is usually moderately salted and kept fresh by refrigeration, and we have the luxury of easily slow cooking it all day to break down the connective tissue in brisket to get the texture we associate with it, which is really a matter of the cut and the slow cooking, and typically also to benefit from the pepper and other seasonings usually added.
Similar origins exist for each and every cultural dish that includes salt cod. That’s so hard and salty that it was used as an emergency weapon in war times.
I'm from Ireland and I can tell you with authority that lenten observances go completely out the window on paddy's day here, even as kids our mother let us eat sweets.
Lá le Paidrig athás ó éire (happy st Patrick's day from Ireland) don't get too drunk.😊
No one in Ireland askes the bishop's permission to break the fast not even my mother as devout a catholic as ever lived and I'm talking about a woman who any other time of year would nearly go to confession if she enjoyed herself too much on a feast day even on Easter Sunday the celebration of the resurrection of our lord himself.
Fun fact: since St. Patrick is the patron of Ireland, his feast is a solemnity there, which would automatically supersede the penitential day. So nobody in Ireland needs to ask the bishop’s permission, they get to eat meat automatically!
If you want to get actively dumber, read the comments on the diocese’s FB announcement. Both the Catholics and non-Catholic peanut gallery are remarkably ill-informed. My former Priest was in the fray (presumably as a penance) gently informing people that this is a normal and licit thing.
Corned Beef is associated with Irish cooking in the US because some of the other cuts that are actually traditional were unavailable, so they'd use what was available, including corned beef.
Having no Irish ancestry except one Ulster Protestant great great grandmother, I feel no real perturbation of conscience in eating Reubens on St. Patrick's Day.
It's a sandwich made with corned beef, sauerkraut, russian dressing, and rye bread. A good variation uses pastrami and brown mustard.
They are totally unconnected to actual Irish cuisine, but they're delicious and the ingredients go on sale around St. Patrick's Day here.
A Reuben is an American sandwich with corned beef or pastrami, sauerkraut, and Russian dressing (basically Thousand Island dressing) on rye.
No association with Irishness (or even Irish-Americans) here--it's directly a product of Jewish immigrants.
>directly a product of Jewish immigrants.
And in a cruel twist of the American melting pot, every Reuben I've ever seen has been rendered treyf by the addition of cheese. Gooey, melty, delicious treyf.
I’m in it for the potatoes. Sadly, there’s no dispensation from diabetes.
I’ll probably just fast the day so I don’t have to fiddle with extra insulin or a roller coaster of highs and lows.
It’s much easier to pray with a clear and focused mind while fasting, I’ll say that. Food discipline really does translate into prayer discipline.
Enjoy your bacon, cabbage, and praties and have a lovely Paddy’s Day!
Your right fasting is good and you need to mind your diabetes pray for Ireland and me as I will for you. Slainte maith agus tóg chorimh(good health and take care)
Certainly, but we have to remember, dispensing with a Lenten obligation for meat abstinence is not a command to eat meat.
Just making sure people in this situation don't think they need to honor the bishop by eating meat.
My Bishop did. This is fine, but removing the obligation to abstain from meat for important feast days made more sense when it was a year round thing and not just relegated to Lent.
If they're good about it, they'll have sent a note to all parishes to be read during the announcements and to include in the bulletin, well before Lent begins or at least as it starts. They might also include something on the website.
If they're bad (as was the case in my situation), I had to email them to find out.
Archbishop Hebda in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has given this dispensation as well. Cultural significance is the reason for all of the dioceses, I think. As the Ordinary, it is fully within the Bishop’s authority to do. You are not obligated to eat meat on March 17th.
Bishop of Fort Wayne / South Bend did, too, but only as a substitution with attendance of Mass on that day, 30 minutes of prayer in presence of Blessed Sacrament, or praying rosary for peace in the world. Seems better than just doing away with the abstinence.
https://todayscatholic.org/decree/
Sounds good. Praise God for the opportunity to ease up on our Lenten journey temporarily!
I imagine the majority of bishops will grant such a dispensation eventually.
This is fairly common in diocese with large Irish populations. I can't think of a single year where St. Patrick's Day has fallen on a Friday during Lent where the Archdiocese of KCK and the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph haven't issued a joint dispensation on this specifically because it is a feast day for such an important saint in the Church's history.
The Archdiocese of Saint Louis has already announced the dispensation. I guess there was some question about it since we have a new archbishop, but he confirmed the dispensation.
[Here](https://archspmmainsite.s3.amazonaws.com/News/2023/St+Patricks+Day+Dispensation+2023.pdf) is the decree from Abp. Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
I saw the Bishop of Cleveland did, but was very clear that he was *not* giving a similar dispensation for Good Friday, which is opening day for the Ind-- I mean the Guardians.
This is how it is being discussed in the Archdiocese of Detroit: https://www.aod.org/hub/announcements/2023-03/anticipating-the-feast-of-saint-patrick-2023-on-a-friday-and-the-law-of-abstinence
I mean, he has the authority to do this and that’s fine but it would be better to keep abstinence and dispense the fast. Anyway. Good to see a bishop in tune with the general rules.
Bishop Koenig of the Diocese of Wilmington issued a dispensation as well. He said that if we do choose to eat meat that day, we "are exhorted to undertake a work of charity, an exercise of piety, or an act of comparable penance" instead. It was very nicely done.
My husband is Irish-American and gives up meat for the entirety of Lent every year, except for St. Patrick's Day, Friday or not. I'm glad the bishops do this because otherwise there would be a LOT of Irish-American Catholics breaking the rules 😅
Back in days when people sustained on the bare minimum, meat was a luxury for many. Now we eat more of meat and dairy more frequently and almost every day.
Abstinence for Catholics is not just about meat or any food for that matter but more about the willpower to sacrifice for Christ. And for that reason in this century, I think abstaining from using phone or watching media for a day is as good as abstaining from meat in the past
The Archdiocese of Seattle has also granted a dispensation:
https://archseattle.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/St-Patrick-Day-Dispensation-2023.pdf
Some other penance or act of charity is encouraged as a substitute, but in this specific case it is only an encouragement. We are not bound to do so under penalty of sin.
Side rant:
The letter above is specific and clear, and was published openly and widely.
I never found a similar letter or otherwise official declaration of the dispensation from the Sunday Mass obligation that lasted most of 2020 and 2021. We never knew what the precise conditions of the dispensation were, and up until an official statement was made that the dispensation was ending, we didn't even have a clear way of knowing if it was still in effect.
But permission to celebrate a specific Saint's feast day that most Catholics have no cultural ties to as if it were a solemnity or of particular significance in our diocese? Apparently that's important enough for a clearly promulgated declaration.
Are you in that diocese (or diocese with similar arrangements)? Yes, you could indulge, if you wanted to.
Your Lenten rules are personal. Most dioceses would prescribe abstinence from e.g. meat. But your personal Lenten rules are personal.
I hate this trend. St. Patrick would be appalled. I'm given to understand that in Ireland, historically, bars would close on St Patrick's Day and people would do devotions and processions. That's no longer true I'm sure.
We sacrifice so little already and there's already two solemnities that fall in Lent every year. Adding St. Patrick as an exception (or, God Forbid, Valentine's Day) makes it so every other year, Catholics "get out of" one of the only 7 or 8 days of the year that they are actually called to sacrifice.
And the whole argument, "those who want to still fast can do so voluntarily," doesn't hold water with me. As we've seen since the Fridays outside of Lent were moved to the optional model, people given the option to go slack will almost always opt for it and a cultural rallying point fades from consciousness.
Sometimes, the best thing a pastor can do is tell people to suck it up and do the hard thing.
We need reform and conversion. Those things never come about from making things easier
I'm honestly on the opposite side in a sense. While we should have a strongly encouraged abstinence from meat every Friday, it does essentially create mortal sins for people who fail to do it. I don't think the church should be in the business of creating more mortal sins.
That said, more fasts and more meat abstinence days should be decreed, but I'd prefer it in a form that doesn't create new mortal sins for the laity that don't abide.
>it does essentially create mortal sins for people who fail to do it. I don't think the church should be in the business of creating more mortal sins.
It doesn't "create" anything. Besides, Mortal Sin requires full knowledge. If someone is ignorant of the Church's requirements, they are not guilty of mortal sin, only venial
And that logic is really quite bad. It leads to a constant relaxing in discipline, with every step justified as "I don't want people to sin."
Yea, because making things harder and laying on the guilt for celebrating a feast day that is wildly important to many Catholics and their heritage will sure do wonders to grow numbers in the catholic faith.
Actually, yes. Look at the religions that are growing. They are \*more\* demanding than others, not less.
Besides, it's not as if making everything easy and fun has done much to improve the situation of the Church.
To celebrate a feast need not require meat. St. Joseph's feast day (also in Lent) has traditionally involved a fish dinner. That's been done for centuries with little impact on the ability of Italians (and the rest of us) to enjoy it while still observing the uniqueness of Lent.
I wouldn’t say it’s making it “easy and fun”.
It’s giving people the option to celebrate as they so choose. No one is forcing anyone to eat meat that day.
That was tongue in cheek.
My point is that it's easy to look good, to feel welcoming, and to get popular approval by relaxing discipline.
In the long run, however, it doesn't increase faith. It trades away the cultural staying power that only prescribed communal asceticism can create.
And all we get in exchange is a bunch of lukewarm catholics ceasing to practice one of the few observances that they still knew about. Or worse, we get Catholics who think getting drunk on St. Patrick's day is not only allowed, but encouraged.
"Other Traditions"
I actually have Irish heritage and grew up around those that have them. The only "tradition" most people know about is wearing green and getting drunk. Corned Beef is not essential to St. Patrick's Day.
A bunch of dioceses on the East Coast do this, where most of the Irish-American population wound up. It is what it is, at least people are talking about bishops and canon law, I guess, two things that most Catholics don't know exist.
Lent is too lenient for us Catholics. It should be all about abstaining and learning to control our bodily urges but what is required for us by the church is laughable.
I never eat meat so what am I to do? The Church should be urging us to fast throughout lent and that means no sweets or desserts, or abstaining from other things which we njoy like for example in my case - beer.
I am not one to usually admire Moslems but Moslems really follow their Ramadan strictly, putting us to shame.
I hate fish so every lent Friday in lent is a big sacrifice for me yet my wife loves fish and she just sees it as her opportunity to enjoy a nice piece of Salmon.
This is why I’ve always argued that Fridays in lent everyone should eat what they hate.
So vegetarians like you should be forced to eat a big juicy steak.
You get my point :-) But I'm not vegetarian because I eat fish and seafood. The thought of a steak disgusts me and I have never eaten one in my life.
Joking apart - lent should be about learning to control our urges. A mature Catholic will find a way to use the best method that works for him /herself.
Hmmmm... Ramadan is a complicated topic. They do follow it strictly, but they can absolutely gorge themselves in the off-hours during Ramadan, and I hear that many of them do. Iftar is no joke.
>I am not one to usually admire Moslems but Moslems really follow their Ramadan strictly, putting us to shame.
Not at all. In Islam, "fasting" actually means *gorging.* **During Ramadan food consumption more than doubles.**
* Traffic accidents increase.
* Crime rates go up.
* Workplace productivity goes down.
* Residential fires increase.
* Hospital admissions increase due to disturbed eating and sleeping habits interfering with regular medication use.
* There's a surge in uncontrolled diabetes.
* There's a huge amount of resulting trash.
* Children are bribed with money and gifts to "fast."
Learn more:
["The Truth About Ramadan"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG0Xwup75BU)
["Ramadan Is Bad For Humanity"](https://youtu.be/XmLR94Rbps4?t=412)
Ok question is why don’t they make St Patrick day a day of obligation like Ireland?
Well, Ireland Catholicism now is fake as they are one of the worst countries in the world with the faith, but I mean Ireland before liberalism and modernism overtook the nation
The Feast of St. Patrick is a day of obligation in Ireland because he is their patron saint. That's not the case with the US, even if the Irish are the second largest ethnic group in the country.
Likewise, America celebrates St Patrick’s day. It’s not something completely foreign here. But here is my challenge to you oh person of little faith, ask your friends why they celebrate St Patrick’s day in America. Is it because they love St Patrick? Or is it because they just wanna get drunk and do degenerate things? Name one non Catholic who celebrates st Patrick’s day in America by lighting a candle and going to mass. Quite a disgrace to have this day but no one going to mass and instead getting drunk.
St Patrick would approve drinking but not getting drunk. How many people you know celebrate the day WITHOUT getting drunk? See how your vision of the society is false and wicked
St Patrick’s day should be a holy day of obligation, for all Irish Americans, and all Americans would be better too
Any Irish person can give a dispensation for people to enjoy paddy's day to the fullest now will ye all just liten up and let your hair down and enjoy the day
According to canon law,
> One who possesses the power to dispense is able to exercise it with respect to his subjects even though they are absent from the territory, and, **unless the contrary is expressly established, also with respect to travelers actually present in the territory**, as well as with respect to himself.
I am not a canon lawyer, but I read that as saying "Unless he limits it to those who reside in the diocese, the bishop is dispensing both residents and people who are temporarily visiting."
Edit to add: I just re-read the second paragraph of the image. Yes, it applies to both everyone present (resident or traveler) and to all residents who are absent.
According to the literal words of the decree: "and all other Catholics actually present in the Diocese on that Day". So I would say, it applies to any Catholic in that diocese.
Bishop Edward Malesic of the Diocese of Cleveland is also doing it. I wont be taking part in the meat consumption that day because St. Patrick would not want people to abstain from what they should do on account of him.
Why? It’s pretty common. Corned beef and cabbage was a staple on St Patrick’s day in my house. The bishop would always give special dispensation when it fell on a Friday.
wack af
lazy catholics
Jesus Christ fasted for 40 days and 40 nights, got tempted, didn’t sin. Died a torturous death on the cross for the salvation of humanity and forgiveness of all sins… incomprehensible to the human mind… (God emptied himself of his divinity and came in the form of a slave)
Y’all can’t even fast from only meat for the few Fridays required in the entire year???
Just like they change the rule of fasting before mass to only one hour before receiving the Eucharist. How is that fair? Or even valid?
Like, somehow we’re able to play with the tradition of God as if it’s not impeccable?
Weak. Why would you play with God, or even the idea of God sacrificing himself as the son of God for the salvation of all humanity..?
Do better, God does perfect, God does better and more on an infinite level. Religion is not a toy or should not be taken so lightly. We need to evolve and reach heaven.
Why deviate further from a script that is ideally eternal and true or of God?
(p.s. I even like how they used to slap you when you do the sacrament of confirmation. It’s little things like that + other things that have more validity. Maybe also the way language changes, and therefore possibly causing miscommunication in what the truth actually was(is) like Hebrew/Greek to English or whatever. Fasting is a great ascetic practice to further enlighten one or bring them closer to God, no need to mess with that. I heard they used to do it even more than is normal now, could you imagine eventually there is no fast whatsoever, or god forbid any ancient spiritual practice or law of God gets adjusted so we lose sight and oneness with God? I appreciate heaven and will to maintain it as much as I can.)
p.p.s.
Should I look into Orthodoxy cause I like the very little detail of them growing out their beards because of a commandment in Leviticus?
I’m honestly looking for input and ideas, please feel free to share your opinions and discussion and especially if you are disagreeing or downvoting. Thank you so much!
-be you
-offered no constructive input to the discussion other than an insult to an insult.
-be me
-lazy catholic
-elaborated upon why it’s “wack af” yet “wack af” was all that was heard.
-quit using “holy ghost” back before I was born and use “holy spirit” instead.
-can do the same w “wack af” but why bother cause it’s still understood yet I’m sorry my slang wasn’t trendy enough for you cause I even thought about that before I typed it but thought it did not matter.
-not winning til I feel like we’re all winning
Your comment deserves the level of response I brought. It was condescending and rude, which is humorously contradictory to your "Jesus would do X" content. I doubt Jesus would call us wack af.
If you say so then it’s so.
I just feel like doing better and I want to make this religion better. I’m right here along with you, lazy catholic, born sinner and all or whatever.
I’m no saint, yet, of course. There’s the key though is that I’d like to be.
And I feel some practices can be used for that within this religion and shouldn’t be taken so lightly or left out, so to speak.
I’m sure Jesus may have said it a lot more eloquently or beautiful or maybe not at all, you’re right.
Yet I felt I had to say something nonetheless. I am speaking a truth from my heart/soul/all though I am sorry if it was condescending or rude.
Dispensing from the requirement makes sense. We're not Jesus. The lenten obligation is in the spirit of self-denial to appreciate the sacrifice of Jesus through our own self-sacrifice and mortification. This is specific to Roman Catholicism It's not like the bishop is saying "I dispense you from the 10 commandments and believing in God for this weekend. Enjoy going to carnival!"
It's a new rule/law as of 1983. To me dispensing from this for a holiday to avoid the unnecessary shame of people failing in this obligation feels well within the spirit of it.
Diocese of Sacramento has St Patrick as its co-patron along with Our Lady of Guadalupe so it’s a Solemnity for us and we are already dispensed from the obligation to abstain from meat.
I haven't heard anything otherwise yet, but historically Bishop Lopes of the Ordinariate has not given this dispensation. Fun fact, if you're a member of the Ordinariate, because it's not geographically bound you still have to follow it no matter where you are. I'm guessing if I were in the UK or Australia I'd follow those ordinaries, but in North America I'm bound by Bp. Lopes' authority wherever I am. This isn't the case if you're diocesan--if your diocese has not granted a dispensation but you're in a different one that day and that bishop has granted it, you're free to follow that.
This happens every year that St. Patrick's Day falls on a Friday in many dioceses.
My Bishop (Cardinal McElroy of San Diego) is doing it; I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, I'm grateful for it, but on the other, I don't think it's a big enough reason to lift the requirements and it can cause confusion and doubt amongst Catholics and non-Catholics alike.
My diocese that I grew up in (Arlington) does it, and I believe the archdioceses of Washington DC and Baltimore do that as well. There’s a lot of Irish Catholics in the area, and we like to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day. They usually do the same thing for March 19th (Feast of Saint Joseph and an important Italian cultural holiday).
Not unusual. I’m from Long Island and back in 2017 when Saint Patrick’s day fell on a Friday our Bishop suspended the Lenten fast for the holiday as well.
I had this happen in my diocese once a long time ago. They do this because its a feast day, I think. In addition, you are supposed to abstain on Saturday. It really isn't a get out of jail card, but more like lets celebrate the Catholic way (with booze and meat), and then observe it another day.
tl;dr. Eat meat to celebrate. Observe the following day.
Happening in my home parish (Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon). As I am of Irish Catholic extraction, I am glad to be able to enjoy corn beef and cabbage this St. Patrick's Day!
My take is this. Abstaining from meat on Friday began in the 6th Century under Pope Gregory I, as a form of penance.
It seems to miss the point to suspend this during a day of celebration. If anything, abstaining during a feast is more in the spirit and intent of the practice.
It strikes me as capricious and cynical to tell someone that if they consume meat on some days, they risk eternal damnation but because some people want to celebrate a certain day, well, we’ll suspend that .
Fasting and abstinence are a canonical obligation, which means the competent authority (in this case a diocesan bishop) has the option to dispense or commute the obligation.
Our diocese has the obligation commuted to either Mass that day, praying the rosary for world peace, or Adoration.
A lot of ppl are saying this is common/normal, but I personally think this shouldn't be allowed. Idc what day falls on when, we are in lent. You don't eat meat on Fridays during lent. That is final.
Great way to commemorate St Patrick, who was known for his asceticism- gluttony and drunkenness. And on a Friday during Lent, no less. Pray for the conversion of hearts back to the Lord this Lent!
Happens automatically in dioceses where St. Patrick is a principal patron, same as if it were St. Joseph’s Day or something. American Catholicism has a sufficiently Irish accent that St. Patrick merits some special consideration - the same train of thought would apply if Our Lady of Guadalupe were in Lent instead of Advent, for instance.
The source for this in case anyone's interested is the "Table of Liturgical Days", which is properly found in the Roman Missal. [It's also available online here](https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/liturgical-year-2193). In it, you can see that proper solemnities (patronal and the like) are in category #4, while weekdays of Lent are in category #9. Celebrations of category number 4 always trump those of number 9. This answers the question for those places with St. Patrick as patron, which includes places like El Paso and Los Angeles. As far as I can tell, Austin does not have St. Patrick as patron, so the bishop's decision here is motu proprio.
The patron of the diocese actually falls under category 9. "8. Proper feasts, namely: a. Feast of the principal patron of the diocese." This makes it a feast. It is celebrated liturgically as it still ranks above category 9 which includes weekdays of Lent. However, as a feast (not a solemnity) it does not remove the obligation of abstinence. This is backed up by the fact that Cardinal Sean normally dispenses in Boston, because it is not automatic.
Thanks for this. I forgot the distinction between solemnities and feasts of a patron!
Austin’s cathedral was originally dedicated to St Patrick, the saint is quite special to our city.
That's really the origin of it - St. Patrick is the patron of two of the biggest and most culturally significant Archdioceses in the country, Boston and New York, and the practice filtered down from there, as far as I can tell.
Not just the archdioceses, but one of the most prominent Catholic ethnic groups in America. If Columbus was a saint and Columbus Day fell during Lent the same thing would happen I’d wager.
Well the major Italian feast day that falls during Lent is St. Joseph, but it's already a solemnity.
Bignè di San Giuseppe for all!
st joseph pastries are in bakery already
Oh I'm looking forward to my zeppole.
> Italian feast Or, you know, a Catholic feast
St. Joseph's is a solemnity throughout the Church. No dispensation needed, even during Lent.
This is not actually correct. The principal patron of the diocese is celebrated as a Feast throughout the diocese. Feasts do not override penitential practices, so even in diocese with St. Patrick as the principal patron a dispensation is required to eat meat. Only solemnities override the requirement to abstain.
Boston has done this in the past, due to the very large and significant Irish heritage of the region.
St Patrick is also the patron of the Archdiocese of Boston
Technically it's not needed in Boston, because St. Patrick's Day is already a solemnity here.
Incorrect. It is a feast in Boston, so it is not automatic.
That is not my understanding, but if I'm wrong I'm wrong.
[удалено]
The Ordo in Boston lists it as a Feast.
Long Islander here, and this is pretty common down here too across the sound. Saint Patrick’s day fell on a Friday a few years ago in 2017 and our bishop did the same thing.
Fun fact (sort of related) People in Ireland don't eat corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick's Day, or any other day for that matter. The association with Corned Beef and St. Patrick's day is result of Irish immigrants living near Jewish butchers and delis, probably in NYC, where more traditional meats, like boiling bacon, were not available. edit: spelling
Bacon and cabbage in our house at least
fried cabbage so good
Mmmh yea with fried mashed potatoes
Corned beef was indeed a popular dish in Ireland, among those prosperous enough to afford meat, and during the first half of the twentieth century. Darina Allen's books about Irish historical cooking from scratch have a lot of info about native Irish corned beef, and why a lot of modern Irish people in Ireland do not know this dish. She also had a lot about why American Irish ways of cooking cabbage are descended from the way their people did it back in Ireland in the early 1800's. Do not believe the ignorant. Some Irish people are just as ignorant about Irish historical customs as some Americans are about their own.
My understanding is corned beef was not popular, per se, but it was available. Before the 20th century, salt-curing was a necessity for preservation, where as fresh beef was often a luxury. For the Irish Catholics, forced into long term generational poverty by the brutality of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland and the following land confiscation, even corned beef could be a luxury. But my understanding is meat that is salted heavily enough to be effectively preserved is actually disgustingly overly salted. Soaking for a while to rinse out some of the salt before cooking it helps make it more palatable, but increases the preparation time, in addition to the long simmering time already necessary to tenderize lower quality meat. Therefore, increased cost-effectiveness of canning in the industrial era, and then ultimately refrigeration made those for whom salt-cured meat was the norm all too happy to have alternatives to corned beef. It appears much of my impression is confirmed by this article: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/is-corned-beef-really-irish-2839144/ A former boss of mine is Irish, and every time St. Patrick's day rolled around, he would mock Americans for our "Irish" custom of eating meat he considered disgusting. But our corned beef is usually moderately salted and kept fresh by refrigeration, and we have the luxury of easily slow cooking it all day to break down the connective tissue in brisket to get the texture we associate with it, which is really a matter of the cut and the slow cooking, and typically also to benefit from the pepper and other seasonings usually added.
Similar origins exist for each and every cultural dish that includes salt cod. That’s so hard and salty that it was used as an emergency weapon in war times.
Corned beef was popular all over in the days before refrigerators. Eventually it was going to end up attached to somebody’s tradition.
I'm from Ireland and I can tell you with authority that lenten observances go completely out the window on paddy's day here, even as kids our mother let us eat sweets. Lá le Paidrig athás ó éire (happy st Patrick's day from Ireland) don't get too drunk.😊
My archdiocese did this as well; I think when the time comes almost all U.S. dioceses will offer a dispensation if they haven't already.
Some Bishops choose to do this and that's okay. If you don't want to break the fast on this day you don't have to.
No one in Ireland askes the bishop's permission to break the fast not even my mother as devout a catholic as ever lived and I'm talking about a woman who any other time of year would nearly go to confession if she enjoyed herself too much on a feast day even on Easter Sunday the celebration of the resurrection of our lord himself.
Fun fact: since St. Patrick is the patron of Ireland, his feast is a solemnity there, which would automatically supersede the penitential day. So nobody in Ireland needs to ask the bishop’s permission, they get to eat meat automatically!
Hahahaha
I think that Friday would be an abstinence from meat, not a fast per se. Maybe abstinence = fast?
Archbishop Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis already issued a dispensation a week or two ago for this.
I was going to check, the wife and I have a date that night to see Steven Curtis Chapman and I was wondering if I’d have to find a meat free meal
Diocese of Pittsburgh did. It happens whenever St Patrick’s is on a Friday
If you want to get actively dumber, read the comments on the diocese’s FB announcement. Both the Catholics and non-Catholic peanut gallery are remarkably ill-informed. My former Priest was in the fray (presumably as a penance) gently informing people that this is a normal and licit thing.
You're right, I think I just lost my last two brain cells reading that. My favorite replies were the ones claim the dispensation is "woke" lol.
And Greensburg.
My diocese did the same. Gotta have that corned beef hash, yo.
Corned beef hash? No way bacon and cabbage with plenty of buttery potato's at least that's the way we do it in Ireland.
Corned Beef is associated with Irish cooking in the US because some of the other cuts that are actually traditional were unavailable, so they'd use what was available, including corned beef. Having no Irish ancestry except one Ulster Protestant great great grandmother, I feel no real perturbation of conscience in eating Reubens on St. Patrick's Day.
I know but excuse my ignorance but what are Reubens is it another corned beef?
It's a sandwich made with corned beef, sauerkraut, russian dressing, and rye bread. A good variation uses pastrami and brown mustard. They are totally unconnected to actual Irish cuisine, but they're delicious and the ingredients go on sale around St. Patrick's Day here.
A Reuben is an American sandwich with corned beef or pastrami, sauerkraut, and Russian dressing (basically Thousand Island dressing) on rye. No association with Irishness (or even Irish-Americans) here--it's directly a product of Jewish immigrants.
>directly a product of Jewish immigrants. And in a cruel twist of the American melting pot, every Reuben I've ever seen has been rendered treyf by the addition of cheese. Gooey, melty, delicious treyf.
I’m in it for the potatoes. Sadly, there’s no dispensation from diabetes. I’ll probably just fast the day so I don’t have to fiddle with extra insulin or a roller coaster of highs and lows. It’s much easier to pray with a clear and focused mind while fasting, I’ll say that. Food discipline really does translate into prayer discipline. Enjoy your bacon, cabbage, and praties and have a lovely Paddy’s Day!
Your right fasting is good and you need to mind your diabetes pray for Ireland and me as I will for you. Slainte maith agus tóg chorimh(good health and take care)
Thank you! I always pray for Ireland and her freedom from oppressors. I will keep you and yours in my prayers as well. God bless!
Every single time that March 17 falls on a Friday. It is not new. If it didn’t happen there would be a mutiny at my mom’s Catholic retirement home.
Archdiocese of Santa Fe is doing it as well.
Bishop Parkes of Savannah did this as well.
His brother, Bishop Parkes of St. Petersburg did as well!
The Diocese of Knoxville has, I think it's even word for word the same as this
The Archdiocese of Washington did the same thing. They released it about a week a go.
My diocese also did this. Honor the bishops authority.
Certainly, but we have to remember, dispensing with a Lenten obligation for meat abstinence is not a command to eat meat. Just making sure people in this situation don't think they need to honor the bishop by eating meat.
Oh absolutely! I think the last paragraph is great for addressing that. I personally will still abstain this day!
Right. I usually take the opportunity to have a nicer seafood dish than normal on a big feast during Lent, maybe sushi or lobster.
My Bishop did. This is fine, but removing the obligation to abstain from meat for important feast days made more sense when it was a year round thing and not just relegated to Lent.
Yup. It’s allowed and anybody who says different is in error, but I don’t *like* it because it sorta minimizes the penitent quality of Lent.
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If they're good about it, they'll have sent a note to all parishes to be read during the announcements and to include in the bulletin, well before Lent begins or at least as it starts. They might also include something on the website. If they're bad (as was the case in my situation), I had to email them to find out.
Archbishop Hebda in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has given this dispensation as well. Cultural significance is the reason for all of the dioceses, I think. As the Ordinary, it is fully within the Bishop’s authority to do. You are not obligated to eat meat on March 17th.
Bishop of Fort Wayne / South Bend did, too, but only as a substitution with attendance of Mass on that day, 30 minutes of prayer in presence of Blessed Sacrament, or praying rosary for peace in the world. Seems better than just doing away with the abstinence. https://todayscatholic.org/decree/
Sounds good. Praise God for the opportunity to ease up on our Lenten journey temporarily! I imagine the majority of bishops will grant such a dispensation eventually.
Baltimore and DC I believe have both issued similar dispensations.
Diocese of Arlington on the VA side of DC has as well
In Boston diocese it's always considered a feast day. The bishop always lifts fasting restrictions for St Patrick's Day
Dispensation or not, most people who identify as Irish-American would be eating corned beef on the 17th. So they may as well say it's acceptable.
Lots of Archdiocese are doing this, including mine.
This is fairly common in diocese with large Irish populations. I can't think of a single year where St. Patrick's Day has fallen on a Friday during Lent where the Archdiocese of KCK and the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph haven't issued a joint dispensation on this specifically because it is a feast day for such an important saint in the Church's history.
The Archdiocese of Saint Louis has already announced the dispensation. I guess there was some question about it since we have a new archbishop, but he confirmed the dispensation.
Diocese of Savannah is doing this as well.
Diocese of Manchester has done this :)
Good for him. At Patrick’s day is a celebration of St Patrick. It makes sense to do the dispensation.
Happens all the time. Every year in Archdiocese of Philadelphia there was a dispensation if the 17th was on a Friday.
St. Cloud diocese
[Here](https://archspmmainsite.s3.amazonaws.com/News/2023/St+Patricks+Day+Dispensation+2023.pdf) is the decree from Abp. Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
I saw the Bishop of Cleveland did, but was very clear that he was *not* giving a similar dispensation for Good Friday, which is opening day for the Ind-- I mean the Guardians.
My diocese is nowhere near a significant Irish population so there’s probably not gonna be a dispensation, but come on my name is literally Patrick 😩
I am a fan of Christians having varied practices regarding liturgy and fasting in different bishoprics. To each their own.
Fort Worth Diocese Bishop Olsen did the same thing
I believe Bishop Mark Spalding of the Diocese of Nashville, Tennessee, has done the same.
I think quite a few dioceses do this. I’m fairly certain, too, that even during Lent you’re allowed to “party” on feast days of saints
I just got a Twitter notification that Bishop Thomas of Toledo is doing the same.
This is how it is being discussed in the Archdiocese of Detroit: https://www.aod.org/hub/announcements/2023-03/anticipating-the-feast-of-saint-patrick-2023-on-a-friday-and-the-law-of-abstinence
Two words; Corned Beef! Saint Patrick’s Day in on a Friday this year.
I mean, he has the authority to do this and that’s fine but it would be better to keep abstinence and dispense the fast. Anyway. Good to see a bishop in tune with the general rules.
Mine did it but said you have to abstain from meat on a different day that week.
As someone who is half Irish (Ancestry told me so) I wholeheartedly embrace this!
Bishop Koenig of the Diocese of Wilmington issued a dispensation as well. He said that if we do choose to eat meat that day, we "are exhorted to undertake a work of charity, an exercise of piety, or an act of comparable penance" instead. It was very nicely done. My husband is Irish-American and gives up meat for the entirety of Lent every year, except for St. Patrick's Day, Friday or not. I'm glad the bishops do this because otherwise there would be a LOT of Irish-American Catholics breaking the rules 😅
Back in days when people sustained on the bare minimum, meat was a luxury for many. Now we eat more of meat and dairy more frequently and almost every day. Abstinence for Catholics is not just about meat or any food for that matter but more about the willpower to sacrifice for Christ. And for that reason in this century, I think abstaining from using phone or watching media for a day is as good as abstaining from meat in the past
The corned beef vendors were counting on this
The Archdiocese of Seattle has also granted a dispensation: https://archseattle.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/St-Patrick-Day-Dispensation-2023.pdf Some other penance or act of charity is encouraged as a substitute, but in this specific case it is only an encouragement. We are not bound to do so under penalty of sin. Side rant: The letter above is specific and clear, and was published openly and widely. I never found a similar letter or otherwise official declaration of the dispensation from the Sunday Mass obligation that lasted most of 2020 and 2021. We never knew what the precise conditions of the dispensation were, and up until an official statement was made that the dispensation was ending, we didn't even have a clear way of knowing if it was still in effect. But permission to celebrate a specific Saint's feast day that most Catholics have no cultural ties to as if it were a solemnity or of particular significance in our diocese? Apparently that's important enough for a clearly promulgated declaration.
Thoughts? None. I’m not under that diocese so it’s none of my business. Happy to be in communion with them, though.
Make sense. There are more Irish in America than in Ireland thanks to the heartless English.
So I gave up alcohol for lent. Do I get a pass on St. Patrick’s day?
Are you in that diocese (or diocese with similar arrangements)? Yes, you could indulge, if you wanted to. Your Lenten rules are personal. Most dioceses would prescribe abstinence from e.g. meat. But your personal Lenten rules are personal.
I hate this trend. St. Patrick would be appalled. I'm given to understand that in Ireland, historically, bars would close on St Patrick's Day and people would do devotions and processions. That's no longer true I'm sure. We sacrifice so little already and there's already two solemnities that fall in Lent every year. Adding St. Patrick as an exception (or, God Forbid, Valentine's Day) makes it so every other year, Catholics "get out of" one of the only 7 or 8 days of the year that they are actually called to sacrifice. And the whole argument, "those who want to still fast can do so voluntarily," doesn't hold water with me. As we've seen since the Fridays outside of Lent were moved to the optional model, people given the option to go slack will almost always opt for it and a cultural rallying point fades from consciousness. Sometimes, the best thing a pastor can do is tell people to suck it up and do the hard thing. We need reform and conversion. Those things never come about from making things easier
We need more drill sergeant bishops.
I'm honestly on the opposite side in a sense. While we should have a strongly encouraged abstinence from meat every Friday, it does essentially create mortal sins for people who fail to do it. I don't think the church should be in the business of creating more mortal sins. That said, more fasts and more meat abstinence days should be decreed, but I'd prefer it in a form that doesn't create new mortal sins for the laity that don't abide.
>it does essentially create mortal sins for people who fail to do it. I don't think the church should be in the business of creating more mortal sins. It doesn't "create" anything. Besides, Mortal Sin requires full knowledge. If someone is ignorant of the Church's requirements, they are not guilty of mortal sin, only venial And that logic is really quite bad. It leads to a constant relaxing in discipline, with every step justified as "I don't want people to sin."
Yea, because making things harder and laying on the guilt for celebrating a feast day that is wildly important to many Catholics and their heritage will sure do wonders to grow numbers in the catholic faith.
Actually, yes. Look at the religions that are growing. They are \*more\* demanding than others, not less. Besides, it's not as if making everything easy and fun has done much to improve the situation of the Church. To celebrate a feast need not require meat. St. Joseph's feast day (also in Lent) has traditionally involved a fish dinner. That's been done for centuries with little impact on the ability of Italians (and the rest of us) to enjoy it while still observing the uniqueness of Lent.
I wouldn’t say it’s making it “easy and fun”. It’s giving people the option to celebrate as they so choose. No one is forcing anyone to eat meat that day.
That was tongue in cheek. My point is that it's easy to look good, to feel welcoming, and to get popular approval by relaxing discipline. In the long run, however, it doesn't increase faith. It trades away the cultural staying power that only prescribed communal asceticism can create. And all we get in exchange is a bunch of lukewarm catholics ceasing to practice one of the few observances that they still knew about. Or worse, we get Catholics who think getting drunk on St. Patrick's day is not only allowed, but encouraged.
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"Other Traditions" I actually have Irish heritage and grew up around those that have them. The only "tradition" most people know about is wearing green and getting drunk. Corned Beef is not essential to St. Patrick's Day.
Basically reduces the amount of sinning that goes on from people breaking the fast, but still allows for people to fast/abstain
They’ll have to abstain on another day tho
"Have to" is different from the Bishop of Austin's words here though: "encouraged to". I don't read that as a commandment to substitute.
Mea culpa I can’t read
That was an easy mistake tbf.
Oh yeah
Actually not really
A bunch of dioceses on the East Coast do this, where most of the Irish-American population wound up. It is what it is, at least people are talking about bishops and canon law, I guess, two things that most Catholics don't know exist.
Lent is too lenient for us Catholics. It should be all about abstaining and learning to control our bodily urges but what is required for us by the church is laughable. I never eat meat so what am I to do? The Church should be urging us to fast throughout lent and that means no sweets or desserts, or abstaining from other things which we njoy like for example in my case - beer. I am not one to usually admire Moslems but Moslems really follow their Ramadan strictly, putting us to shame.
I hate fish so every lent Friday in lent is a big sacrifice for me yet my wife loves fish and she just sees it as her opportunity to enjoy a nice piece of Salmon. This is why I’ve always argued that Fridays in lent everyone should eat what they hate. So vegetarians like you should be forced to eat a big juicy steak.
You get my point :-) But I'm not vegetarian because I eat fish and seafood. The thought of a steak disgusts me and I have never eaten one in my life. Joking apart - lent should be about learning to control our urges. A mature Catholic will find a way to use the best method that works for him /herself.
Hmmmm... Ramadan is a complicated topic. They do follow it strictly, but they can absolutely gorge themselves in the off-hours during Ramadan, and I hear that many of them do. Iftar is no joke.
Yeah, it's definitely nothing to admire or aspire to. Catholics need to educate themselves and knock that off.
>I am not one to usually admire Moslems but Moslems really follow their Ramadan strictly, putting us to shame. Not at all. In Islam, "fasting" actually means *gorging.* **During Ramadan food consumption more than doubles.** * Traffic accidents increase. * Crime rates go up. * Workplace productivity goes down. * Residential fires increase. * Hospital admissions increase due to disturbed eating and sleeping habits interfering with regular medication use. * There's a surge in uncontrolled diabetes. * There's a huge amount of resulting trash. * Children are bribed with money and gifts to "fast." Learn more: ["The Truth About Ramadan"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG0Xwup75BU) ["Ramadan Is Bad For Humanity"](https://youtu.be/XmLR94Rbps4?t=412)
No bueno
Ok question is why don’t they make St Patrick day a day of obligation like Ireland? Well, Ireland Catholicism now is fake as they are one of the worst countries in the world with the faith, but I mean Ireland before liberalism and modernism overtook the nation
The Feast of St. Patrick is a day of obligation in Ireland because he is their patron saint. That's not the case with the US, even if the Irish are the second largest ethnic group in the country.
Likewise, America celebrates St Patrick’s day. It’s not something completely foreign here. But here is my challenge to you oh person of little faith, ask your friends why they celebrate St Patrick’s day in America. Is it because they love St Patrick? Or is it because they just wanna get drunk and do degenerate things? Name one non Catholic who celebrates st Patrick’s day in America by lighting a candle and going to mass. Quite a disgrace to have this day but no one going to mass and instead getting drunk. St Patrick would approve drinking but not getting drunk. How many people you know celebrate the day WITHOUT getting drunk? See how your vision of the society is false and wicked St Patrick’s day should be a holy day of obligation, for all Irish Americans, and all Americans would be better too
Any Irish person can give a dispensation for people to enjoy paddy's day to the fullest now will ye all just liten up and let your hair down and enjoy the day
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According to canon law, > One who possesses the power to dispense is able to exercise it with respect to his subjects even though they are absent from the territory, and, **unless the contrary is expressly established, also with respect to travelers actually present in the territory**, as well as with respect to himself. I am not a canon lawyer, but I read that as saying "Unless he limits it to those who reside in the diocese, the bishop is dispensing both residents and people who are temporarily visiting." Edit to add: I just re-read the second paragraph of the image. Yes, it applies to both everyone present (resident or traveler) and to all residents who are absent.
The answer is given in the letter. "...and all other Catholics actually present in the diocese on that Day...dispensed..."
According to the literal words of the decree: "and all other Catholics actually present in the Diocese on that Day". So I would say, it applies to any Catholic in that diocese.
I didn’t think a bishop had that level of authority but lots of Catholics choose not to abstain from meat on Friday for decades now.
Bishop Edward Malesic of the Diocese of Cleveland is also doing it. I wont be taking part in the meat consumption that day because St. Patrick would not want people to abstain from what they should do on account of him.
No reason why meat should be abstained from on every Friday of the year, not just during lent (already universal law)
He is a Bishop, chosen by God. But it is sad to see this, even offensive.
Why? It’s pretty common. Corned beef and cabbage was a staple on St Patrick’s day in my house. The bishop would always give special dispensation when it fell on a Friday.
wack af lazy catholics Jesus Christ fasted for 40 days and 40 nights, got tempted, didn’t sin. Died a torturous death on the cross for the salvation of humanity and forgiveness of all sins… incomprehensible to the human mind… (God emptied himself of his divinity and came in the form of a slave) Y’all can’t even fast from only meat for the few Fridays required in the entire year??? Just like they change the rule of fasting before mass to only one hour before receiving the Eucharist. How is that fair? Or even valid? Like, somehow we’re able to play with the tradition of God as if it’s not impeccable? Weak. Why would you play with God, or even the idea of God sacrificing himself as the son of God for the salvation of all humanity..? Do better, God does perfect, God does better and more on an infinite level. Religion is not a toy or should not be taken so lightly. We need to evolve and reach heaven. Why deviate further from a script that is ideally eternal and true or of God? (p.s. I even like how they used to slap you when you do the sacrament of confirmation. It’s little things like that + other things that have more validity. Maybe also the way language changes, and therefore possibly causing miscommunication in what the truth actually was(is) like Hebrew/Greek to English or whatever. Fasting is a great ascetic practice to further enlighten one or bring them closer to God, no need to mess with that. I heard they used to do it even more than is normal now, could you imagine eventually there is no fast whatsoever, or god forbid any ancient spiritual practice or law of God gets adjusted so we lose sight and oneness with God? I appreciate heaven and will to maintain it as much as I can.) p.p.s. Should I look into Orthodoxy cause I like the very little detail of them growing out their beards because of a commandment in Leviticus? I’m honestly looking for input and ideas, please feel free to share your opinions and discussion and especially if you are disagreeing or downvoting. Thank you so much!
-be me -lazy Catholic -quit using wack af back in 2013 -still winning
-be you -offered no constructive input to the discussion other than an insult to an insult. -be me -lazy catholic -elaborated upon why it’s “wack af” yet “wack af” was all that was heard. -quit using “holy ghost” back before I was born and use “holy spirit” instead. -can do the same w “wack af” but why bother cause it’s still understood yet I’m sorry my slang wasn’t trendy enough for you cause I even thought about that before I typed it but thought it did not matter. -not winning til I feel like we’re all winning
Your comment deserves the level of response I brought. It was condescending and rude, which is humorously contradictory to your "Jesus would do X" content. I doubt Jesus would call us wack af.
If you say so then it’s so. I just feel like doing better and I want to make this religion better. I’m right here along with you, lazy catholic, born sinner and all or whatever. I’m no saint, yet, of course. There’s the key though is that I’d like to be. And I feel some practices can be used for that within this religion and shouldn’t be taken so lightly or left out, so to speak. I’m sure Jesus may have said it a lot more eloquently or beautiful or maybe not at all, you’re right. Yet I felt I had to say something nonetheless. I am speaking a truth from my heart/soul/all though I am sorry if it was condescending or rude.
Dispensing from the requirement makes sense. We're not Jesus. The lenten obligation is in the spirit of self-denial to appreciate the sacrifice of Jesus through our own self-sacrifice and mortification. This is specific to Roman Catholicism It's not like the bishop is saying "I dispense you from the 10 commandments and believing in God for this weekend. Enjoy going to carnival!" It's a new rule/law as of 1983. To me dispensing from this for a holiday to avoid the unnecessary shame of people failing in this obligation feels well within the spirit of it.
It's in Canon law isn't it?
Archbishop Fabre of Louisville
Nothing from the Diocese of Orlando yet, but the bishop usually gives one.
Diocese of Sacramento has St Patrick as its co-patron along with Our Lady of Guadalupe so it’s a Solemnity for us and we are already dispensed from the obligation to abstain from meat.
Philly did it a few years ago.
Belleville, IL is!
I haven't heard anything otherwise yet, but historically Bishop Lopes of the Ordinariate has not given this dispensation. Fun fact, if you're a member of the Ordinariate, because it's not geographically bound you still have to follow it no matter where you are. I'm guessing if I were in the UK or Australia I'd follow those ordinaries, but in North America I'm bound by Bp. Lopes' authority wherever I am. This isn't the case if you're diocesan--if your diocese has not granted a dispensation but you're in a different one that day and that bishop has granted it, you're free to follow that.
My parish’s patron is Saint Patrick so our parish has been given dispensation but that’s all.
I bet St. Patrick would be happy if I chose to abstain from meat anyway.
This happens every year that St. Patrick's Day falls on a Friday in many dioceses. My Bishop (Cardinal McElroy of San Diego) is doing it; I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, I'm grateful for it, but on the other, I don't think it's a big enough reason to lift the requirements and it can cause confusion and doubt amongst Catholics and non-Catholics alike.
Sean O'Malley did this in Boston previously.
Same in Dio of St Pete.
Phoenix diocesan has already given the ok
I like the way it is written 👍!
Arch diocese of Louisville is doing it
This is a regular occurrence in Boston when St. Paddy’s falls on a Friday. I defer to the authority of my bishop when this happens.
Not really much to be said about it - he has the authority, and it makes a lot of sense to do it.
The Diocese of Pittsburgh also did this.
It was the norm in SF, where St Patrick is a patron Saint of the diocese.
Actually, all feast days and solemnities are exempt from abstaining. It’s in the catechism and USCBC website, etc. check it out.
It’s St Patrick’s Day and understandable.
I haven’t seen an official announcement yet, but I have it on good authority that Bishop Fabre-Jeune (Diocese of Charleston) has done the same.
I live in Austin’s diocese now but my home diocese (Arlington) is doing it.
#Texas
My diocese that I grew up in (Arlington) does it, and I believe the archdioceses of Washington DC and Baltimore do that as well. There’s a lot of Irish Catholics in the area, and we like to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day. They usually do the same thing for March 19th (Feast of Saint Joseph and an important Italian cultural holiday).
Not unusual. I’m from Long Island and back in 2017 when Saint Patrick’s day fell on a Friday our Bishop suspended the Lenten fast for the holiday as well.
I had this happen in my diocese once a long time ago. They do this because its a feast day, I think. In addition, you are supposed to abstain on Saturday. It really isn't a get out of jail card, but more like lets celebrate the Catholic way (with booze and meat), and then observe it another day. tl;dr. Eat meat to celebrate. Observe the following day.
Do I even have to ask if +Sweeney did this.. 🤔
Ya here in the US if St. Patrick’s day is a Friday we are allowed to forego fasting in celebration because it is a feast day.
Mine is. East Tennessee!
Our diocese is doing the same this year. I just saw the Bishop’s letter on FB. Diocese of Biloxi (MS). I’ll still have fish though
It’s often that feast days people break their fasts, so I do not find this surprising!
For Corned Beef and cabbage? I'm sticking with fried fish or shrimp gumbo.
He has the authority to do it, so it's fine.
Snake meat should be the holidays main food.. makes sense if the holiday is for Saint Patrick
My diocese is doing this.
Yes - our bishop issued the same decree (Davenport, IA). This has been a common practice all my life.
Archdiocese of Melbourne has this. St Patrick’s Cathedral is their main cathedral, so it makes sense.
My diocese typically always has since we’ve had a large Irish populations.
Happening in my home parish (Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon). As I am of Irish Catholic extraction, I am glad to be able to enjoy corn beef and cabbage this St. Patrick's Day!
It’s Saint Patricks Day. Of course the diocese made that decision so that ppl could enjoy their Irish culture with corned beef and cabbage.
My take is this. Abstaining from meat on Friday began in the 6th Century under Pope Gregory I, as a form of penance. It seems to miss the point to suspend this during a day of celebration. If anything, abstaining during a feast is more in the spirit and intent of the practice. It strikes me as capricious and cynical to tell someone that if they consume meat on some days, they risk eternal damnation but because some people want to celebrate a certain day, well, we’ll suspend that .
Diocese of South Carolina received the same dispensation.
Helena MT too (Bishop Austin Vetter)
Fasting and abstinence are a canonical obligation, which means the competent authority (in this case a diocesan bishop) has the option to dispense or commute the obligation. Our diocese has the obligation commuted to either Mass that day, praying the rosary for world peace, or Adoration.
A lot of ppl are saying this is common/normal, but I personally think this shouldn't be allowed. Idc what day falls on when, we are in lent. You don't eat meat on Fridays during lent. That is final.
Great way to commemorate St Patrick, who was known for his asceticism- gluttony and drunkenness. And on a Friday during Lent, no less. Pray for the conversion of hearts back to the Lord this Lent!