VATICAN - Decree from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, authorizing a special permission for the celebration of the Conversion of St. Paul” in the jubilee year, 2,000th anniversary of his birth

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – The Holy See Press Office issued the following decree on May 31, 2008, from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
“The Apostle St. Paul, who proclaimed the truth of Christ to the whole world and did so after being Christ’s persecutor, spent himself in using every means to proclaim the Good News to the nations, committing himself with zeal to the unity and concord of all Christians, has always been and continues to be venerated by the faithful, especially in this particular year, the bimillennium of his birth, which the Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI desired to institute as a special jubilee year.
Thus, in virtue the faculties conferred on this Congregation by the Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI, it is permitted, in an extraordinary manner, that on Jan. 25, 2009, the Third Sunday 'per annum,' a Mass according to the formulary 'Conversion of St. Paul,' as is found in the Roman Missal, may be celebrated in the individual churches. In such a case, the second reading of the Mass is taken from the Roman Lectionary for the Third Sunday 'per annum,' and the Creed will be recited.
The concession, by express mandate of the Supreme Pontiff, is only valid for the year 2009, anything to the contrary notwithstanding.
From the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, January 25, 2008, feast of the Conversion of St. Paul.
Signed by Cardinal Francis Arinze, Prefect of the Congregation, and Archbishop Albert Malcolm Ranjith, Secretary of the Congregation. (Agenzia Fides 2/6/2008)