Friday Abstinence Canonical Exception

Often the question arises whether one needs a special mandate from the diocesan bishop to lift the Friday abstinence from meat when a solemnity (e.g. 19 March, Saint Joseph; 25 March, Annunciation) falls on a Lenten Friday. Canon 1251 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law appears to grant a permanent canonical exception whenever this happens, without any need for a diocesan mandate.

Can. 1251--Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Bishops' Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

Therefore, Friday, 19 March 2010, being the solemnity of Saint Joseph, is not a day of abstinence, by virtue of the law itself, without any need for a diocesan mandate!