This year, the Memorial of Saint Patrick falls on Friday, March 17. It is well known that Saint Patrick's Day is a day of friendly social celebration for many American Catholics.
I, therefore, decree that on Friday, March 17, 2023, all Catholics of the Diocese of Tulsa, no matter where they may be, and all other Catholics actually present in the Diocese on that day, are by my authority, dispensed from the obligation to abstain from meat.
While It is not required that anyone make use of this dispensation, those who do wish to make use of it are encouraged to abstain from meat on some other day as part of their penitiential practices during Lent.
Given at the Chancery in the Diocese of Tulsa on the 3rd day in March, Friday of the First Week of Lent, in the Year of our Lord, 2023.