Dies festi de praecepto
Holy days of obligation 2040 England
Besides every Sunday, the Church in England keeps six holy days of obligation. In 2040, six of them bind on a weekday: Catholics go to Mass that day, or at a vigil Mass the evening before.
- Friday 6 January
The Epiphany of the Lord
- Thursday 10 May
The Ascension of the Lord
- Friday 29 June
Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles
- Wednesday 15 August
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- Thursday 1 November
All Saints
When All Saints moves to Sunday 2 November, All Souls moves to Monday 3 November.
- Tuesday 25 December
The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)
Not holy days of obligation in England
- Mary, the Holy Mother of God (1 January), Saint Joseph (19 March) and the Immaculate Conception (8 December): kept as solemnities, but not days of obligation since 1970.
- The Body and Blood of Christ: on the Sunday after Trinity Sunday since 2006.
How the rules work
Canon law names ten holy days for the whole Church and lets each bishops’ conference move some of them to a Sunday or lift the obligation, so the list differs from country to country. Some conferences also move a holy day that falls on a Saturday or a Monday to the Sunday beside it, or keep the feast but lift the obligation that year.
When the calendar itself moves a holy day — the Immaculate Conception off a Sunday of Advent, Saint Joseph off a Sunday of Lent or out of Holy Week — the Dicastery for Divine Worship ruled in January 2025 that the obligation does not move with it.
Dioceses can grant their own dispensations in a particular year; your parish will say. See also the liturgical year 2040 and the ranks of celebrations.