Question: When Is Ascension 2008?
The Ascension of Our Lord, a holy day of obligation, celebrates the day that Christ, in the presence of His apostles, ascended bodily into Heaven. The Ascension occurred 40 days after Easter Sunday, so it falls on a Thursday; however, in most dioceses in the United States, the celebration of the Ascension has been transferred to the following Sunday.
Answer: Ascension Thursday falls on May 1, 2008, and it will be celebrated on that day in the ecclesiastical provinces of Boston, Hartford, New York, Newark, Philadelphia, and the state of Nebraska.
In all other dioceses of the United States, the celebration of the Feast of the Ascension is transferred to the following Sunday, May 4, 2008.
Since Ascension is a holy day of obligation, if you are unsure which day your diocese will celebrate it, you should check with your parish priest or your diocesan office.
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