Holy Days of Obligation by Country

The Nativity of the Lord; The Epiphany of the Lord; The Ascension of the Lord; Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles; The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary; All Saints

Mary, the Holy Mother of God; The Nativity of the Lord

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary; The Nativity of the Lord

Mary, the Holy Mother of God; The Ascension of the Lord; The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary; All Saints; The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary; The Nativity of the Lord

The Epiphany of the Lord; Saint Patrick, Patron of Ireland; The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary; All Saints; The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary; The Nativity of the Lord

The Ascension of the Lord; Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles; The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary; All Saints; The Nativity of the Lord

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary; The Nativity of the Lord

Why do holy days of obligation differ by country?

Canon 1246 lists ten holy days for the universal Church, but it allows each national bishops’ conference, with the prior approval of the Holy See, to suppress some of them or transfer them to a Sunday. That is why the United States keeps six, England and Wales six, Ireland and Scotland their own lists, and Canada, Australia and New Zealand only two each.

Do Sundays count as holy days of obligation?

Yes. Sunday is the primordial holy day of obligation in every country; the national lists are days of obligation in addition to every Sunday of the year.