Has St. Patrick’s Day Been Moved?

There’s been a lot of talk this week about whether St. Patrick’s Day should be celebrated on March 15 instead of March 17, since the holiday falls during Holy Week for Christians and Catholics around the world. Since there is no official word on the Vatican Web site (and no one mentioned it at church last week), I called the Cleveland (where I live) Catholic Diocese office to get their word on the situation.

According to diocesan spokesman, Bob Tayek there will be no liturgical services for St. Patrick this year, but parishioners are left to decide for themselves when to celebrate the secular holiday. Says Tayek, “I think that you need to separate the civic celebration or ethnic celebration of St. Patrick’s Day and really what St. Patrick’s Day means for the church.”

That said, I’m not so sure that eating corned beef is appropriate during Holy Week. Maybe a nice order of fish and chips will have to do.