Corned beef OK for Catholics on St. Patrick’s Day, cardinal says

Archdiocese allows dispensation for 'one day only,' RI says no meat tomorrow

Boston Catholics can rest easy and bring out the corned beef this St. Patrick’s Day, the Archdiocese of Boston reassured parishioners.

“Given the importance of this feast in the life of the Archdiocese and in the lives of many Catholics, Cardinal Sean is granting a dispensation from the Friday Lenten abstinence on March 17, 2023, to those who wish to take advantage of this opportunity,” wrote the archdiocese in their notice.

This St. Patrick’s Day falls on a mid-Lent Friday for the first time since 2017, meaning strictly practicing Catholics would traditionally be unable to partake in any meat consumption during the holiday.

During the 40 days of Lent, adult Catholics are generally expected to abstain from meat on all Fridays and Ash Wednesday, in addition to other fasting and reflection practices.

But, the archdiocese and others seemed to reason, a St. Patrick’s Day feast — marking the death of the Boston archdiocese’s patron saint — isn’t really a St. Patrick’s Day feast without any meat.

Archdiocese in towns like Worcester and Springfield have joined in, but others weren’t so quick to offer a dispensation.

According to a National Catholic Register survey, about 70% of bishops in the U.S. have granted their parishioners dispensation to join in on the festivities this year, broadly citing the importance of Irish cultural customs.

In a statement, the head of the Archdiocese of Rhode Island rejected a general dispensation this year and said “it is important to remind the faithful of the importance of our Lenten disciplines.”

Catholics may request an individual dispensation to take the holiday off.

Regardless, the Archdiocese of Boston emphasized, “this is a one day only dispensation.”