Easter Duty
The obligation to receive Holy Communion at least once a year, during the Easter season, and to confess grave sins at least once a year — the second and third precepts of the Church.
The Fourth Lateran Council in 1215 required every Catholic who had reached the age of discretion to confess sins and receive the Eucharist at least once a year. The rule still stands: canon law asks for Communion at least once a year, during Easter time unless a just cause moves it elsewhere, and confession of grave sins at least once a year. In the United States the Easter season for this purpose runs from the First Sunday of Lent to Trinity Sunday. It is a minimum, set for a time when frequent Communion was rare; the Church today urges Communion at every Mass one attends worthily.
Councils
Where the Church settled or debated this. Follow a council to read our article on it, or the decrees themselves.
- 1215Fourth Lateran Councilthe decrees
Sources
Church teaching
- Code of Canon LawCode of Canon Law (1983), canon 920 (annual Easter Communion) and canon 989 (annual confession of grave sins).
Sources checked 29 September 2026