Lenten Guidelines of Fasting and Abstinence
(Dispensation Granted for Saint Patrick’s Day, Friday, March 17, 2023)

Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of fasting and abstinence for
every Catholic bound according to age and health. In addition, Fridays during Lent are
obligatory days of abstinence from meat.

For members of the Latin Catholic Church, the norms on fasting are obligatory
from age 18 until age 59. The norms on abstinence from meat are binding upon the
faithful from the age of 14 and onward as long as one’s health permits this practice. These
Lenten practices unite us to our Savior, Jesus Christ, who through His sacrificial death
upon the cross wrought our salvation. They also unite us to the plight of our many
brothers and sisters who endure suffering, persecution and poverty.

Lent also calls to mind those who have gone before us and who have been
outstanding in the proclamation of the faith. On Friday, March 17, 2023, we celebrate the
Commemoration of Saint Patrick’s Day. In accordance with canon 87, §1 of the Code of
Canon Law, and noting the many commemorations of the saint that will occur on that day,
I hereby grant a dispensation from abstinence to all the faithful of the Diocese of
Rochester.

While granting this dispensation, I encourage the faithful to observe the abstinence
from meat on another day during that week. Also, attending Holy Mass on Saint Patrick’s
Day truly would honor the memory and work of this great apostolic saint of the Church.
Therefore, parish celebrations honoring Saint Patrick should rightly include the Holy
Sacrifice of the Mass, as the Eucharistic sacrifice is “the summit toward which the activity
of the Church is directed, it is also the fount from which all her power flows.”
(Sacrosanctum Concilium, no. 10; cf. Lumen Gentium, no. 11).

The Solemnity of Saint Joseph, ordinarily observed on March 19™, has been
transferred to March 20™ this year since March 19″ falls on the Fourth Sunday of Lent. No
dispensations in this regard are needed.

I wish everyone a very blessed Saint Patrick’s Day and Saint Joseph’s Day!

Given at the aula of the chancery of the Diocese of Rochester on the sixth day of
February in the year of Our Lord two thousand and twenty-three.

The Most Reverend Salvatore R. Matano
Bishop of Rochester

The Reverend Father Daniel J. Condon
Chancellor

OFFICE OF THE BISHOP
1150 Buffalo Road
Rochester, New York 14624
(585) 328-3210

OFFICE OF THE BISHOP
1150 Buffalo Road
Rochester, New York 14624
(585) 328-3210

Statement of The Most Reverend Salvatore R. Matano
Bishop of Rochester
Upon the death of His Holiness, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI
December 31, 2022
Vigil of the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God

Today’s announcement that Our Holy Father Emeritus, Benedict XVI, has died,
causes great sadness in our hearts as we have truly come to know, love and admire deeply
this Successor to Saint Peter for the guidance that this Vicar of Christ gave not only to
Catholics but to all people of good will. We unite with our Holy Father, Pope Francis,
and the entire Church Universal and all people of faith in mourning the death of Pope
Emeritus Benedict XVI.

In his resignation from the Chair of Peter on February 28, 2013, Benedict XVI
again demonstrated his extraordinary love for the Church and her cornerstone, Jesus
Christ. Placing the proclamation of the Gospel and the salvation of souls above all else,
His Holiness accepted in humility that his age and health did not permit him to fulfill the
duties of his office as he would wish. Therefore, Our Holy Father Emeritus, humbly
acknowledging that his health had deteriorated, asked that his successor soon be elected
in solemn conclave in order to provide for the spiritual and pastoral needs of God’s
people.

Yet, the profound humility that shone forth in the announcement of Benedict XVI
made him even stronger and more powerful by his personal act of faith. He had carved
out a place in our hearts and there he shall ever remain. In living a life of solitude these
last several years, he continued to pray fervently for us and for his successor, Pope
Francis. At the time of his resignation, Benedict XVI said, in his own words, that he
would continue devotedly to “serve the Holy Church of God in the future through a life
dedicated to prayer.”

Over these years, Benedict XVI, no doubt, had contemplated his departure from
this life and was well prepared to meet the Eternal High Priest, Jesus Christ, whom he
served with an undivided heart and whose face he longed to see. We now accompany our
Holy Father Emeritus as he crosses over the threshold of this earthly life into that place
the Lord has prepared for him from the beginning of time. Like the first pope, Saint
Peter, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI had answered again and again the question that Jesus
addressed to Simon Peter by the Sea of Tiberias: “Simon, Son of John, do you love me
more than these others?” with the words, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you!” (John
21:15-17).

On this day, while there is sadness in our hearts, we do in faith rejoice with
grateful hearts that this Successor to Saint Peter now comes into the presence of the
Eternal Father to live forever in His presence. The Roman Catholic Diocese of
Rochester, in union with our Holy Father, Pope Francis, and the Universal Church and all
people who know and cherish goodness, gives thanks to God for the life of His Holiness,
Pope Benedict XVI, and for his burning desire and Petrine tenacity to serve Christ’s
Bride, the Church, and her Founder, Christ the Lord, in charity and in faith, with little
concern for the glory of this world, but rather fixing his eyes upon the glory of eternity!
We will continue to be inspired by his teachings so brilliantly presented by one who
spent his entire life in pursuit of the Truth according to his motto, “Cooperatores
Veritatis,” “Cooperators of the Truth,”

We also continue to pray for His Holiness, Pope Francis, who shared that special
bond with Benedict XVI as brothers in the Petrine Office. May the Lord sustain Pope
Francis as he continues to serve the People of God with love, fidelity and devotion to Our
Lord, Jesus Christ.

On a more personal note, approximately one hour after the announcement of the
election of Pope Benedict XVI to the Chair of Peter on April 19, 2005, I entered the Co-
Cathedral of Saint Joseph in Burlington, Vermont, to be ordained a Bishop. I spoke of
this memorable occasion at my first visit with His Holiness in September 2005. It is a
moment that I will never forget as he seemed genuinely pleased that we shared such
joyous occasions on the same day.

! ask all our parishes, schools and diocesan agencies to join in prayer for the
repose of the soul of Benedict XVI with special Masses and including his name in all the
prayers of the faithful during this time of mourning. | will offer a Solemn Mass for our
deceased Holy Father Emeritus on Wednesday, January 4, 2023, at 7:00 p.m., at the
Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Rochester. | pray that all our parishes, schools and
diocesan agencies will be represented at this Solemn Mass.

Begging the intercession of Our Mother, Mary, whose Solemnity we are soon to
celebrate honoring her as the Mother of God, we commend the soul of Benedict XVI to
the mercy of God. May his noble soul and all the souls of the faithful departed, through
the mercy of God rest in peace.

Given from the aula of the Chancery Offices of the Diocese of Rochester on this
thirty-first day of December, in the Year of Our Lord two thousand and twenty-two, and
to which I herewith affix my signature and place upon it the seal of the Diocese of
Rochester.

The Most Reverend Salvatore R. Matano
Bishop of Rochester