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MANILA, Philippines — The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila announced late November that the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Dec. 8, Sunday, will be moved to the following day, Dec. 9, Monday.
In a statement on its website, the archdiocese said the celebration of the Second Sunday of Advent on Dec. 8 takes precedence over the feast of the Immaculate Conception.
“The norms of the liturgical calendar provide that in cases when there is a concurrence of a solemnity and a Sunday of Advent, the Sunday of Advent takes precedence over the solemnity,” the archdiocesan circular said.
Initially, the holy day of obligation to attend mass on Dec. 8, was also be transferred to Dec. 9.
But the Vatican later approved the petition of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) that Catholics will no longer be obliged to attend the Holy Mass on December 9.
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