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Can Catholics Eat Meat on St. Patrick’s Day? It depends on your diocese. In many parts of Ireland and Irish-American communities, bishops have long granted special permission or dispensations on March 17th to allow meat consumption — particularly because traditional Irish meals are such an essential part of cultural identity and celebration. Here’s what he heard back: “As of Thursday, March 16, 73.1% of the dioceses — 128 — were offering some relief from the no-meat-on-Fridays-during-Lent rule for St. Patrick’s Day. In 1883, Archbishop John Williams seemed to have solved the problem for the very-Irish Archdiocese of Boston, when he got Pope Leo XIII to declare St. Patrick’s Day a “Double of the First Class” feast, which in the Tridentine Church calendar of the time put it in the class of the highest liturgical occasions (like St. Joseph’s Day), on More than 70% of U.S. diocesan bishops are allowing Catholics to eat meat on St. Patrick’s Day this year, even though it’s a Friday during Lent. Pope Francis encouraged the Movement for Some dioceses require Catholics to fulfill specific conditions before they can avail of the dispensations, such as making a pilgrimage or visiting a church dedicated to St. Patrick, praying the “Breastplate of St. Patrick,” or engaging in a pious devotion like the Rosary or Eucharistic adoration. For the first time in six years, St. Patrick’s Day is intersecting with a Friday in Lent and many local Church leaders have opted to give Catholics that day off of abstaining from meat. Catholics are obligated to not consume meat on Fridays during Lent, per the Catholic Bishops of the United States order. However, in certain coincidental circumstances -- such as St. Patrick's Day The dispensation will allow Catholics to eat classic St. Patrick's Day meals like corned beef and cabbage and shepherd's pie. Catholic leaders in Houston, Milwaukee, Phoenix, Cleveland and In many cases, dispensations were granted either to allow the faithful to eat animals other than fish or to celebrate a great feast day. One example in the 1600s found the French fur trappers in Canada hard-pressed to adhere to the Lenten diet since vegetables and grains were scarce during the severe northern winters. Although St. Patrick was never officially canonized by a pope, he is included in the list of saints, and his feast day officially placed on the Catholic Churchʼs liturgical calendar in the early 1600s with thanks to Waterfordborn Franciscan scholar Luke Wadding. In 1940 and again in 2008, St. Patrick’s Day fell during Holy Week, causing many dioceses to cancel their celebrations of the saint’s day, or move them to the week before. In some places, like the Archdiocese of Omaha, Nebraska, and Washington, D.C. the faithful are asked to transfer their day of abstinence to the next day if they choose to eat meat on St. Patrick's Dioceses in Springfield and Worcester are issuing Catholics a dispensation, allowing them to have the traditional St. Patrick’s Day meal. Traditionally, Catholics refrain from eating meat on Fridays during lent as a way to recognize Jesus' sacrifice, who, according to the Catholic faith, died on a Friday. Rule Number 1: Irish or not, many Catholics enjoy a hearty plate of corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day. Rule Number 2: Catholics don’t eat meat on Fridays in Lent. Every now and then, however, Rule Number 2 is in danger of causing a problem with Rule Number 1. This year, St. Patrick’s Day – March 17 — is a Friday in Lent. Corned beef and cabbage. / Brent Hofacker via Shutterstock. Washington D.C., Mar 3, 2023 / 14:50 pm (CNA). This year St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Friday.For those who aren’t Catholic but are While the Catholic Church prohibits eating meat on Fridays during Lent, bishops in about one-third of the U.S.'s 197 dioceses have issued a one-day waiver of the rule for St. Patrick’s Day A statue of St. Patrick, patron of the Archdiocese of New York, is seen at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City on St. Patrick's Day March 17, 2021. (CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz) This year March 17 falls on a Friday. As of March 9, more than 80 of the nearly 200 dioceses in the U.S. had announced a St. Patrick’s Day exemption to the no-meat rule, according to the Catholic News Agency. The dispensation will allow Catholics to eat classic St. Patrick's Day meals like corned beef and cabbage and shepherd's pie. Catholic leaders in Houston, Milwaukee, Phoenix, Cleveland and Louisville Archbishop Shelton Fabre issued a dispensation from eating meat on St. Patrick's Day for the 24 counties in his jurisdiction, said Cecelia Price, spokesperson for the Archdiocese of
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