London, England, Sep 4, 2017 / 11:44 am
The Vatican has approved a decision from the Catholic bishops in England and Wales to move two Holy Days of Obligation back to their original dates.
Effective starting on December 3, the first Sunday of Advent of this year, the Catholic dioceses in England and Wales will celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord on January 6, and the Ascension of the Lord on the Thursday after the 6th Sunday of Easter.
The celebration of Epiphany will be moved to the adjacent Sunday when it falls on a Saturday or Monday, per a norm established by the Bishop's Conference of England and Wales in 1984.
The decision was recently announced in a decree from the Catholic Bishop's Conference of England and Wales, signed by Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster and President of the Bishops' Conference.