The feast of St. Joseph would fall on Wednesday of Holy Week and the Annunciation on Tuesday of the Octave of Easter. So:
While the two feasts are among the 14 solemnities marked with special care in the Catholic Church, they do not take precedence over the commemoration of Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection.
Therefore, the congregation said, in 2008 the feast of St. Joseph will be celebrated March 15, the day before Palm Sunday, and the feast of the Annunciation will be celebrated March 31, the Monday after the second Sunday of Easter, which also is Divine Mercy Sunday.
(Announced now so those who make church calendars can get it right)
And in not-quite related news, the bishops of England and Wales have made some adjustments, perhaps familiar to us here:
"We have responded to requests from diocesan councils of priests and many others, deeply concerned at the diminishing observance of these days," said Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, archbishop of Westminster, in a recent statement.
"In order to foster the celebration of the rhythm of the liturgical year and to celebrate more profoundly the mysteries of the life and mission of the Lord, the bishops have decided to transfer to Sunday those holy days of obligation which are solemnities of the Lord" other than Christmas Day, he said.
"This means that the Epiphany, the Ascension of the Lord and Corpus Christi will now be celebrated on Sunday," he added.
The chairman of the Catholic Union, a lay group, objects:
The Chairman of the Catholic Union of Great Britain, Mr James Bogle, a London barrister, has called upon the bishops of England and Wales to review their decision to move three holy days of obligation from being celebrated during the week to being celebrated on the nearest Sunday.
Speaking to The Catholic Herald of London, Mr Bogle said that the bishops had not consulted widely enough among the laity, that he thought few of the laity strongly objected to celebrating holy days on weekdays and that the move was an unnecessary capitulation to the spirit of secularism now dominating society. He added that secularism was a failure that was not making people happy.
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