News in brief

Lenten regulations 

Ash Wednesday, Feb. 14, and Good Friday, March 29, are obligatory days of fasting and abstinence for Catholics. In addition, Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence. 

For members of the Latin Catholic Church, the norms on fasting are obligatory from age 18 until age 59. When fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal, as well as two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal. The norms concerning abstinence from meat are binding upon members of the Latin Catholic Church from age 14 onwards. 

If possible, the fast on Good Friday is continued until the Easter Vigil (on Holy Saturday night) as the “paschal fast” to honor the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus and to prepare ourselves to share more fully and to celebrate more readily his Resurrection. 

— Source: U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops 

Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion 

The Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion will be held Sunday, Feb. 18, at 2:30 p.m. at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary, 2801 E. Fourth St., Duluth. The liturgy begins the final preparation for those going through the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) throughout the diocese, including catechumens, who are adults seeking baptism in the Catholic faith, and candidates, adults who have already been baptized, who are seeking the sacraments of confirmation and the Holy Eucharist. 

Words of thanks from the National Religious Retirement Office 

The National Religious Retirement Office of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops would like to thank the Diocese of Duluth for its generous support to the Retirement Fund for Religious collection. They expressed thanks from the many women and men religious who are full of gratitude for the support they receive because of the collection. John Knutsen, director of the office, stated that “your generosity is a gift that resonates deeply, and we are truly thankful.”