The Tablet Staff

The Diocese of Brooklyn announced Friday that the Chrism Mass this year will be celebrated on June 19, 2020, at 7:30 PM, the Feast of the Sacred Heart, depending on circumstances at that time.

The Chrism Mass is usually celebrated on the morning of Holy Thursday at the cathedral of each diocese, but in many places, it is celebrated on another day during Holy Week, in order to facilitate the celebration of Holy Thursday at the parishes of the diocese. In recent years, Bishop DiMarzio has celebrated the Chrism Mass on Holy Tuesday at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph.

During the annual Chrism Mass, the bishop blesses the Holy Oils that will be used to administer the sacraments throughout the diocese during the coming year.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, this year the Holy Oils will be distributed at a later date to be announced. The parishes in Brooklyn and Queens will continue to use the Holy Oils blessed at the previous year’s Chrism Mass until further notice.

The Chrism Mass is also an important event in the liturgical year because during the Mass the clergy of the diocese renew the promises of obedience to the bishop, the promise of living a simple life and the promise of chaste celibacy they made at their ordination.

Each year, priests who are celebrating significant anniversaries of ordination and who serve in Brooklyn and Queens, are invited to be among the special concelebrants of the Chrism Mass. Among the jubilarians this year is Bishop DiMarzio, who will celebrate the 50th anniversary of his priestly ordination in May.