Moreover, the last time this occurred, in 2002, I distinctly recall that in the US the Solemnity was so translated, but the obligation to assist at Mass was not! How weird is that?

Almost always, Holy Days of Obligation are recognized on the Church’s Universal Calendar as Solemnities. The Universal Church has a Universal Calendar of special days of observance hierarchically ranked in which national conferences of bishops can request changes to it. Yes, Canon Law lists from the many Solemnities on the calendar ten Holy Days of Obligation. There are actually many Solemnities that are celebrated without much fanfare (i.e., are not Holy Days of Obligation) anywhere but observed in the Universal Church nonetheless liturgically (March 19 is rarely if ever, a Holy Day of Obligation anywhere, yet universally it is, except when falling on a Sunday or when falling during Holy Week, the Solemnity of St. Joseph). There are, too, exceptions where, for their nation’s purposes, e.g., the bishops’ have sought and been allowed to exalt the patron saint of the country’s memorial or feast as a Solemnity and also require Mass attendance thus making what is elsewhere at best an optional memorial a Holy Day of Obligation in their nation: March 17 for St. Patrick in Ireland. The nations’ bishops can also, and do, seek permission to set the observance of some solemnities. Just as the article mentioned that in Hawaii there are only two Holy Days of Obligation, so too, in Canada, only about three Holy Days of Obligation are observed nationally, because the nation’s bishops sought permission for such from the Holy See.

It confuses the issue to refer to any of the six Holy Days of Obligation mentioned in the first paragraph as “feasts.” They are not technically or liturgically speaking “feasts.” Those six mentioned are ALWAYS SOLEMNITIES, as are the SOLEMNITIES recognized in the Universal Calendar of the Church: Epiphany, Jan. 6; St. Joseph, March 19; the Annunciation, March 25; the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, June 24; Sts. Peter & Paul, June 29; and others (such as Pentecost, Trinity, Corpus Christi, Sacred Heart), that change dates from year to year. Epiphany, Jan. 6, is commuted to the nearest Sunday in many nations such as ours. Most nations have done the same with Corpus Christi, which is traditionally on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday. In Rome proper, and Italy in general, it is celebrated on Sunday, but within St. Peter’s at Vatican City and also the three other major basilicas that are property and hence part of the extraterritorial Vatican City State, Corpus Christi is still observed on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday. Still within the twentieth century, (but probably not anymore!), some of the major Catholic nations of Europe still had Corpus Christi not only as a Holy Day of Obligation on Thursday, but it was also a national holiday!

The Church has rankings for days of observance. “SOLEMNITIES” are the highest; going lower, but next in rank to solemnities are “FEASTS,” such as we will experience this liturgical year on the Sundays of Sept. 14th with the “Feast of the Exaltation [or Triumph] of the Most Holy Cross” and Nov. 9th with the “Feast of the Dedication of the Cathedral Basilica of the Lateran”; the only other feasts celebrated when landing on a Sunday are those of Jesus Christ (e.g., Feb. 2 the “Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple”)—whereas, e.g., Sept. 8 is the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, but not celebrated as such when falling on a Sunday. Most feasts celebrate Christ, His Mother, His Angels or His Apostles. A few, such as Aug. 10, incongruously celebrate a saint most beloved (usually in Rome) St. Lawrence. Ranking after “feasts” and lower are UNIVERSALLY OBSERVED MEMORIALS, which are, therefore, observed by the Universal Church everywhere: e.g., Aug. 11, St. Clare of Assisi; Oct. 4, St. Francis of Assisi. Pope John Paul II in his last years mandated that the theretofore optional Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, celebrated the day after the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which is always on a Friday, now always be everywhere celebrated on that Saturday following. Except, of course, when it is pre-empted by falling on a date where there is a higher ranked special day of observance. For instance, this year, May 31st , the Feast of the Visitation of Mary, pre-empted the celebration of the Immaculate Heart of Mary when the Sacred Heart of Jesus fell on May 30. When—and it has happened—two solemnities collide on the same day: e.g., when June 29, the usual Solemnity of St. Peter and Paul, falls on the Friday immediately after the observance of Corpus Christi, the Solemnity of Jesus Christ takes precedence; hence, the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, and not, Sts. Peter & Paul is observed on that day. How to determine what should be celebrated when two special days of observance collide on the same day? The order of rank is God (Jesus), Mary, John the Baptist, Joseph, Angels and Apostles, other Saints.

Coming after universally observed MEMORIALS are OPTIONAL MEMORIALS. A good example in the U.S., is St. Patrick. If he is the patron saint of the parish church, the cathedral or the diocese, he should be celebrated. If the pastor, using his choice of options, reasons that the day in the midst of Lent should be observed as a regular day of Lent, then poor St. Patrick is ignored. Perhaps trickiest of all to understand, is a COMMEMORATION, which generally rank after memorials. This is where another problem comes in from the first paragraph.

Whoever wrote this flawed “explanation” did not bother to look that EVERYWHERE in the United States, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008, IS STILL the Solemnity of All Saints, but not a Holy Day of Obligation. You make an affirmative statement that the Solemnities of Mary the Mother of God, All Saints, and Assumption are transferred to Sunday when they fall on a Saturday or Monday. Where in the nation does that legitimately happen as authorized by the Holy See? Nowhere! The Observance in the United States as Holy Days of Obligation is merely lifted when they fall on a Saturday or Monday, but they are still celebrated at church all the same on the day itself even when they fall on Saturday or Monday. This year Nov. 1, All Saints Day, falls on a Saturday and is celebrated at Mass in the morning and afternoon in churches around the nation, but there is no obligation to attend Mass that day.

Nov. 2, All Souls Day is a COMMEMORATION—it is not an optional memorial or a memorial, much less a feast, and certainly not a solemnity. This year All Souls Day falls on Sunday. Elsewhere, in the wisdom of bishops, it is transferred to Monday, Nov. 3. In that manner, it is what is done to the observance of the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, the Patroness of our Nation, when Dec. 8 falls on a Sunday. In the latter case, Monday, Dec. 9, then becomes a Holy Day of Obligation only in the U.S., and Sunday, Dec. 8 is strangely observed in the U.S. but not in Italy as the Second Sunday of Advent.

What is inexplicable is that the U.S. Bishops have issued a mandate that the usual Saturday Vigil Masses for Sunday that fall on Nov. 1 NOT be celebrated as the Solemnity of All Saints but rather be celebrated as the Commemoration of All Souls, the Sunday observance in the United States. Nowhere in liturgical law or practice is anything ever less than a Solemnity meant to trump a Solemnity. For instance, when Christmas falls on Monday, Sunday evening Masses are those of the Christmas Vigil; when Christmas falls on Saturday, if there are Sat. evening Masses, they would have to be Masses of Christmas Day and not Vigil Masses of the Sunday observance; but practically nowhere has Dec. 25 evening Masses. And yet, the U.S. Bishops have turned liturgical law and canon law inside out in mandating that late afternoon and evening Masses on the Solemnity of All Saints be celebrated as Masses of the Commemoration of All Souls. That is the current state of affairs.

If they fall on Sunday, a single Mass qualifies for both the Feast and the Sunday.