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Who picks the holy days of obligation?

 Holy days of obligation-days when Catholics are required to celebrate Eucharist-are a result of tradition, devotion, and church law, and their number has varied according to history and place. Before the mid-17th century, individual bishops could determine what holy days would be observed in their diocese. This resulted in vastly different church calendars from diocese to diocese and a huge number of holy days. In 1642 Pope Urban VIII reduced the number to 36 (imagine how many there must have been before).