All Saints Day, a solemnity set aside by the Catholic Church to honor saints known and unknown, will be celebrated Nov. 1.
A holy day of obligation on which Catholics are expected to attend Mass, the feast has its roots in the early centuries of the church, when Christians honored martyrs. The obligation to attend Mass on All Saints Day in the Archdiocese of Baltimore is maintained every year except for those in which the feast falls on a Saturday or Monday.
The solemnity gives members of the Catholic community an opportunity to venerate the saints, ask them to intercede for special intentions and learn about their lives of Christian witness.
“The example of the saints encourages us to follow in their same footsteps and to experience the joy of those who trust in God, for the one true cause of sorrow and unhappiness for men and women is to live far from him,” said Pope Benedict XVI in a 2006 All Saints homily.
Holiness demands a constant effort, the pope said, but it is possible for everyone because, rather than a human effort, it is “first and foremost a gift of God.”
The feast originated circa 609 when Pope Boniface IV dedicated the Pantheon to honor the Virgin Mary and the martyrs, although the day was celebrated May 13. However, Pope Gregory III consecrated a basilica in the Vatican to honor all saints, and he chose Nov. 1 as their feast. Pope Gregory IV decided the entire church would observe the feast on that day.
All Souls’ Day is observed Nov. 2. Although not a holy day of obligation, Catholics are encouraged to attend Mass that day to remember the faithful departed.
“It is the day when Catholics throughout the world pray for the sanctification of the souls of those who have died so that they might enjoy life everlasting with God in Heaven, the reward for a life well lived,” Archbishop William E. Lori noted in a 2014 commentary.
