There are two reasons there is no obligation to attend Mass on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary this year. First, when the feast falls on a Saturday or Monday (as it does this year), the obligation to attend Mass is lifted in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Second, Archbishop William E. Lori has issued a general dispensation from attending Mass during the coronavirus pandemic.
Members of the faithful who wish to attend Mass on the feast day are still invited to do so if their parishes offer public liturgies. They may also watch online.
The feast day commemorates Mary’s assumption into heaven, body and soul, after her earthly life.
After consulting with the world’s bishops, Pope Pius XII made the Assumption a doctrine of the Catholic Church during a Nov. 1, 1950 celebration at St. Peter’s Square. It was the only exercise of papal infallibility in the 20th century.
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