MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki has granted an exemption for St. Patrick's Day, meaning Catholics will not have to abstain from eating meat on that Friday.
During the lent season, which began on Feb. 22, Catholics are obligated to give up meat every Friday as an act of penance. That abstinence is what led to Friday fish fry menus across the country.
However, this year, one of those Fridays happens to also be St. Patrick's Day, a day when people are meant to feast in honor of St. Patrick.
In an effort to allow both celebrations, Archbishop Listecki granted the exemption for March 17.
“A feast day in the Church means what it says – it calls for celebratory feasting,” Archbishop Listecki said. “However, Catholics who partake in the St. Patrick’s Day feast are encouraged to engage in another sacrificial or charitable act that day or give up meat on another day,” Listecki said in a news release.
The last time St. Patrick's Day fell on a lent Friday, more than 80 dioceses around the U.S. granted exemptions from fasting from meat. Archbishop Listecki was among them.
“Saints such as St. Patrick provide us with marvelous role models and a means to pass on traditions from one generation to the next,” Archbishop Listecki said. “It’s also important that we deeply appreciate the connection from us as the Body of Christ on earth to the saints now in heaven.
