Announcement for Easter and moveable feasts for 2024

The Proclamation of the date of Easter and the other moveable feasts on the Feast of the Epiphany of Our Lord dates from a time when calendars were not readily available.

It was necessary to make known the date of Easter in advance, since many celebrations of the liturgical year depend on its date.

On the Epiphany of the Lord, after the proclamation of the Gospel, a deacon or cantor, in keeping with an ancient practice of Holy Mother Church, announced from the ambo the moveable feasts of the current year:

“Know, dear brethren, that, as we have rejoiced at the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, so by leave of God’s mercy we announce to you also the joy of his Resurrection, who is our Savior.

“On the fourteenth day of February will fall Ash Wednesday, and the beginning of the fast of the most sacred Lenten season.

“On the thirty-first day of March you will celebrate with joy Easter Day, the Paschal feast of our Lord Jesus Christ.

On the twelfth day of May will be the Ascension of our “Lord Jesus Christ.

“On the nineteenth day of May, the feast of Pentecost.

“On the second day of June, the feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.

“On the first day of December, the First Sunday of the Advent of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom is honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”