Decree: Elevating the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel on July 16, 2023

Most Reverend Jeffrey J. Walsh
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The Bishop of Gaylord Jeffrey J. Walsh decrees the elevation of the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel on July 16, 2023.

Since its founding in 1971, the Diocese of Gaylord has been entrusted to Our Lady of Mount Carmel as our principal patron. Most years, on July 16, the Universal Church celebrates the optional Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. According to the Table of Liturgical Days, as Our Lady of Mount Carmel is our principal patron, her optional memorial is elevated to the level of a proper feast. However, on July 16, 2023, the Universal Church will celebrate the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, in accordance with these same rubrics which dictate Sunday celebrations take precedence over both proper feasts and optional memorials.

To increase the devotion to and to renew our trust in Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and in accord with Canon 1244 §2, I decree that on July 16, 2023, in the Diocese of Gaylord, the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel be observed with precedence over the Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time.

The following is obligatory at liturgical services the weekend of July 15-16, 2023 at all parishes in the Diocese of Gaylord:

  1. At Masses on Sunday, July 16, 2023 and those which take place on Saturday, July 15, 2023 in anticipation, the prayers proper to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, found in the Proper of Saints, are to be used and white vestments are to be worn.
  2. At the same Masses, Preface I of the Blessed Virgin Mary is to be used.
  3. At the same Masses, the readings proper to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, found in the Lectionary of Mass (#601), are to be proclaimed. Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12, found in the Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary (#710), is to be proclaimed as the second reading from the New Testament.
  4. For those who participate in the Liturgy of the Hours, the prayers prescribed for the Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel are to be used on July 16, 2023. Evening Prayer I for Sunday of the third week of the Psalter is to be used on July 15, 2023, but making use of the Collect proper to Our Lady of Mount Carmel for the concluding prayer.

This decree was given in Gaylord, Michigan on the 23rd day of June in the year of our Lord, 2023.

To see the official decree click here