Special Liturgical Note Transferal of the Solemnities of St. Joseph and the Annunciation of the Lord
In 2008, the traditional date of the Solemnity of St. Joseph, March 19, falls within Holy Week. The Annunciation of the Lord, March 25, falls within the Easter Octave. Number 60 of the General Norms for the Liturgical Year and Calendar allows “a solemnity impeded by a liturgical day that takes precedence over it should be transferred to the closest day not listed in nos. 1-8 in the table of precedence.”
The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments has established that the Solemnity of St. Joseph will be transferred to Saturday, March 15, 2008, and the Annunciation will be transferred to Monday, March 31, 2008.
Therefore in the Diocese of Jackson the Solemnity of St. Joseph should be observed liturgically on Saturday, March 15, and the Annunciation should be celebrated on Monday, March 31.
In those places where St. Patrick is the principal patron of a particular church (Table of Liturgical Days, no. 4c) it is, customarily, commemorated as a solemnity. In the particular church where this solemnity, the feast of St. Patrick may be transferred to Friday, March 14, due to the Solemnity of St. Joseph being transferred to March 15.
Therefore, in dioceses where the feast of St. Patrick is commemorated as a non-obligatory memorial, the feast will not be commemorated liturgically in the year 2008.
