March 17 is the Feast Day of St. Patrick, one of the Church’s great evangelizing saints. It is a day that holds special significance in the Diocese of Portland because St. Patrick, along with St. Jean Baptiste, is a secondary patron of the Diocese of Portland, chosen because French missionaries and, later, French and Irish immigrants brought the Catholic faith to Maine and helped it take root and grow. St. Patrick Church in Newcastle was actually the first church in the country named for St. Patrick and has been in continual use longer than any other Catholic church in New England.

Find a list of special celebrations set for Maine here.

A reminder that in recognition of St. Patrick’s Day falling on a Friday during Lent this year, Bishop Robert Deeley is authorizing individuals who choose to eat meat on that day (i.e., a traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner) to commute, that is, transfer their abstinence from meat to another day within that same week. Parishioners are able to make use of this commutation on St. Patrick’s Day for any reason, even if they are not necessarily attending a parish event that day.