May Day weekend is getting closer! Believers wondered what to make of the beginning of this year’s long weekend, which falls on a Friday—a day traditionally associated with fasting in the Catholic Church. Their doubts were dispelled by the official decree of the Bishop of Legnica, Andrzej Siemieniewski.
The bishop’s official decision
Using the authority granted to him by the Code of Canon Law, the clergyman issued a document lifting the obligation to fast. The decree states:
Given that this year the so-called long May weekend begins on Friday (...), I grant a dispensation to all the faithful staying within the territory of the Diocese of Legnica on May 1, 2026.
The bishop’s decision applies not only to residents of the diocese, but to everyone who is physically present within its territory that day, including tourists spending the May Day weekend in the Karkonosze Mountains, the Copper Basin or Bolesławiec.
What in return for the dispensation?
In accordance with tradition and Church law, lifting the Friday fast is accompanied by encouragement to undertake other forms of piety. In his letter, Bishop A. Siemieniewski indicated that those making use of the dispensation should undertake:
- works of mercy,
- other penitential acts.
The hierarch also emphasized that the May celebrations should be filled with “joy at the resurrection of the Savior.”