---
kind: "section"
citation: "36 U.S.C. § 119"
title: "36"
title_heading: "Patriotic and National Observances, Ceremonies, and Organizations"
number: "119"
heading: "National Day of Prayer"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/36/119"
units:
  - "Subtitle I — Patriotic and National Observances and Ceremonies"
  - "Part A — Observances and Ceremonies"
  - "Chapter 1 — Patriotic and National Observances"
---

# §119. National Day of Prayer


The President shall issue each year a proclamation designating the first Thursday in May as a National Day of Prayer on which the people of the United States may turn to God in prayer and meditation at churches, in groups, and as individuals.


## Source credit

(Pub. L. 105–225, Aug. 12, 1998, 112 Stat. 1258.)

## Notes

| Historical and Revision Notes |  |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Revised<br>Section | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) |
| 119 | 36:169h. | Apr. 17, 1952, ch. 216, 66 Stat. 64; May 5, 1988, Pub. L. 100–307, 102 Stat. 456. |