One of the four acts of reparation requested by Our Lord is receiving Holy Communion on the First Saturdays. We have received several calls at our office from supporters asking if it is possible to fulfill the devotion in April 2026, given that the First Saturday falls on Holy Saturday. We answer with a resounding “YES.”
Even though Holy Saturday and Good Friday are the two days of the year when the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is not offered, there is still the possibility – given certain circumstances – of receiving Holy Communion on Holy Saturday. Here I am thinking of the opportunity afforded through the Easter Vigil. Depending on when the Mass starts, it may be possible for someone to receive Holy Communion before midnight on Holy Saturday.
However, there is another certain possibility which Our Lord Himself explained when Sister Lucia, prompted by her confessor, asked about those who might not be able to receive Holy Communion on a First Saturday. Our Lord replied, “The practice of this devotion will be equally acceptable on the Sunday following the first Saturday when My priests, for a just cause, allow it to souls.”[1]
Ask Your Priest
Thus, any Catholic may approach their parish priest and request this exemption. If the priest judges it to be a just cause, he may allow it and Our Lord, always true to His word, will honor it.
We at The Fatima Center encourage you to ask your priest about this exemption, especially since it could help others. For example, a pastor can judge this to be a “just cause” and make a general announcement to his entire congregation, that since First Saturday falls on Holy Saturday, he will commute this requirement to Easter Sunday for everyone under his authority.
I would also mention that Our Lord’s words indicate this exemption can even apply to the Rosary and the 15-minute meditation. I personally find it difficult to see how there could be a “just cause” to not pray the Rosary on Holy Saturday or not keep Our Lady company for 15 minutes while meditating on the Mysteries of the Rosary on Holy Saturday.[2] However, Christ leaves that judgement to His priests. And it is clear from the devotion that a good Confession is to be made within eight days of the First Saturday. (Obviously, one must be in the state of grace to receive Holy Communion.)
Please bear in mind that these four acts should all be specifically offered with the intention of making reparation for those offenses which, like so many thorns, pierce the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Reminder
Offering reparation for the offenses and blasphemies levied against the Immaculate Heart of Mary is an essential part of the Message of Fatima. It was for this precise end that Our Lord and Our Lady revealed the specifics of the First Saturday devotion to Sister Lucia on December 10, 1925. Therefore, we have great confidence that this devotion is eminently pleasing to God and highly effective in making reparation. We can be certain that the more reparation Catholics throughout the world offer through this devotion, the closer mankind will arrive at helping gain the graces necessary for the Pope in union with the bishops to consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Thus, we unceasingly encourage ALL Catholics to practice the First Saturday devotion EVERY month.
May you have a grace-filled Holy Week.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.
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Additional Resources
– Visit the “First Saturday Devotion” page at our website.
– Read the article “First Saturday Reparation on Holy Saturday” from March 28, 2021.
– The booklet “The Magnificent Promise: The Forgotten Fatima Devotion of the First Saturdays” contains everything you need to know about this devotion.
– We also have a series of videos (and audio-only podcasts) explaining the devotion.
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Endnotes
[1] See Frère Michel de la Sainte Trinité, The Whole Truth About Fatima, Vol. II: The Secret and the Church, p. 260.
[2] Holy Saturday is a most appropriate day for reparation. In fact, it is perhaps the day of the year when we should most concern ourselves with keeping Our Lady company, as Her Son lies in the tomb. In some Catholic cultures, there is even a popular devotion of “Accompanying Mary” on Holy Saturday, similar to how we might make a Holy Hour to keep Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament company.