Ascension observed May 11-12

The feast of the Ascension of the Lord, a holy day of obligation, is May 9 but will be observed in churches throughout the Archdiocese of Baltimore the weekend of May 11-12.

The feast commemorates Christ’s ascension into heaven 40 days after Easter. It is observed on the seventh Sunday of Easter in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and most other ecclesiastical provinces in the U.S.

In 2002, the feast was transferred from the Thursday after the sixth Sunday of Easter. While still a holy day of obligation like every Sunday, the feast does not require an additional day of Mass attendance.  

In November 1998, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops approved the transfer and allowed each bishop to choose whether or not to move the observance, a provision allowed for in the Code of Canon Law. Blessed Pope John Paul II approved the transfer in 1999.