Bishop Jeffrey J. Walsh has issued the following dispensation on Friday, March 17, 2023 (click for printable PDF)
Dispensation from Lenten Abstinence
During Lent, Fridays are days of abstinence obligation one to abstain from eating meat and meat products as a common sign and witness of penitence in the Catholic community. Abstinence applies to all Catholics who are 14 years or older.
This year, St. Patrick's Day occurs on Friday, March 17, 2023. It is a feast that is celebrated in a culturally significant way for many within the Diocese of Gaylord. Having received several requests from various sectors of the diocese for a consideration of a dispensation from abstinence to commemorate the memorial of St. Patrick within the Irish tradition, and for the spiritual good of the faithful who celebrate this feast, I hereby grant a dispensation from the discipline of abstinence on Friday, March 17, 2023, to all Catholics who are domiciled or visiting in the territory of the Diocese of Gaylord.
Furthermore, those who choose to utilize this dispensation, are to perform another suitable penance on the day before or the day after St. Patrick's Day to express their penitential solidarity with the Catholic community.
Given in Gaylord, Michigan on this the 8th of March in the year of our Lord, 2023 the Feast of St. John of God.
+Most Reverend Jeffrey J. Walsh
Bishop of Gaylord
