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Pre-Vatican II, what were the Holy Days of Obligation? Were they different than we have today?

This blog gives an historical summary of the American (and Universal) Church in regards to Holy Days and Fasting.

From what I can see in the US the pre V2 holy days were:

Christmas
Circumcision
Epiphany
Ascension
Immaculate Conception
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin
Saints Peter and Paul
All Saints
Corpus Christi
St. Joseph

https://acatholiclife.blogspot.com/2020 ... ation.html

That's the universal list, which is the same as today's (since 1917, when Benedict XV added back two that St. Pius X had dropped).

Epiphany, St. Joseph, SS. Peter and Paul, and Corpus Christi were not Holy Days of Obligation in the USA, however. So pre-V2 we had the same ones we do today, but without all the exceptions.

These 6 days days obliging US Catholics date back to when there were 30+ on the universal calendar, by the way.

peregrinator wrote: ↑Thu Jan 02, 2025 12:59 pm That's the universal list, which is the same as today's (since 1917, when Benedict XV added back two that St. Pius X had dropped).

Epiphany, St. Joseph, SS. Peter and Paul, and Corpus Christi were not Holy Days of Obligation in the USA, however. So pre-V2 we had the same ones we do today, but without all the exceptions.

That was what I thought, although January 1 used to be the Feast of the Circumcision of Jesus before it became the Feast of Mary Mother of God.

What motivated this question is that I am reading the book "JFK Growing Up In the American Century 1917-1956" by Fred Logevall. At one point he says that the Kennedys always attended Mass every Sunday and all Holy Days of Obligation, such as August 15, December 8 and January 6", I was wondering it was simply an error on his part that he didn't know the right days or if the calendar was changed at Vatican II. If I understand you correctly, it was an error.

Doom wrote: ↑Fri Jan 03, 2025 4:23 pm
That was what I thought, although January 1 used to be the Feast of the Circumcision of Jesus before it became the Feast of Mary Mother of God.

I seem to remember that it was a dual feast of both the circumcision, and Mary, as Mother of God. However, I was in 11th. grade when they changed the calendar, so it was a long time ago. I may or may not remember it as well as I'd like to think.

Pre-1962 it was called Circumcision. St. John XXIII changed this to the Octave Day of Christmas (which it is!), but the Propers were left unchanged. In the Divine Liturgy of St. Paul VI it's called "Mary, Mother of God" but the Gospel still includes Luke 2:21 (at least optionally!).

I would have to check a handmissal to be 100% certain, but I'm fairly sure Epiphany was not a Holy Day of Obligation in the USA. Of course the Kennedys might still have assisted at Mass on that day.

The gospel on January 1 is still the Circumcision

Doom wrote: ↑Fri Jan 03, 2025 6:15 pm The gospel on January 1 is still the Circumcision

Right, it includes Luke 2:21 (which is the entire Gospel in the Roman Rite) ... one of those occasions on which the Gospel in the Montini Missal is longer than that in the Roman Missal.