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Decree of dispensation for St. Patrick’s Day
Dispensing the Faithful from the Obligation of Abstinence on the Memorial of St. Patrick
Whereas, Catholics in the United States are required to observe abstinence from meat on each Friday of Lent (NCCB, Pastoral Statement on Penance and Abstinence, n. 13);
Whereas, the Memorial of St. Patrick falls on a Friday in Lent this year;
Whereas, “during the Lenten season, certain feasts occur which .. .local custom traditionally exempts from the Lenten spirit of penance … ” which may be regulated at the diocesan level (ibid., n. 16);
Whereas, the Diocesan Bishop is competent to dispense or commute from universal and particular disciplinary laws (cc. 87 §1, 1245; Regulae Juris, 35);
Therefore, I hereby
DISPENSE
those who wish to celebrate St. Patrick Day from the observance of abstinence from meat on Friday, March 17, 2023 . Those who reside or are present within the Diocese of Jefferson City and who wish to make use of this provision are encouraged to observe at least one of these three alternative penances on that day: participate at Mass; participate in the devotion of the Stations of the Cross; or pray the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary.
Given at the Chancery on the 24th day of February in the year of our Lord 2023.