Washington D.C., Jun 2, 2021 / 11:02 am
Six Catholic dioceses in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Delaware will be lifting the dispensation from the Sunday obligation beginning June 26-27.
In a joint statement on Wednesday, June 2, the bishops of the Archdiocese of Washington and the Province of Baltimore – which includes the dioceses of Wheeling-Charleston, Richmond, Arlington, and Wilmington as well as the Baltimore archdiocese – welcomed the faithful back to Mass.
“We welcome and encourage the Faithful to return to full in-person participation of the Sunday Eucharist, the source and summit of our Catholic faith,” the bishops stated.
They announced they were “lifting the dispensation of the Sunday and Holy Days Mass obligation.” The bishops cited a continued decline in the number of new cases of COVID-19, as well as the availability of the COVID-19 vaccine.