All Saints Day
Pope Boniface and Emperor Phocas in front of Roman Pantheon.
By Sarah Kittle
Every year on November 1, Catholics of all walks celebrate All Saints Day, a day set aside for the observance of saints. It closely follows Halloween, a huge holiday in the United States. Would it surprise you to know that Halloween, an evening when kids dress up as ghosts and ghouls, was originally a Christian holiday?
“Hallow” in Old English means “holy” or “sacred.” Halloween, also known as All Hallows Eve, simply means “the evening of holy persons.” According to Christianity.com, Halloween as observed in the U.S. today is a mixture of Celtic religious ideas and Christian martyrology.
The origin
In 607 A.D., the Eastern Roman Emperor Phocas gifted Pope Boniface IV a Roman Pantheon and granted permission to turn it into a Christian church. According to Bede’s Ecclesiastical History, Boniface IV had the pagan temple ritualistically purified and, “once its company of devils had been cast out,” it was renamed the church of Saint Mary of the Martyrs (or the St. Maria Rotunda).
As a result, the ancient temple of all the Roman gods was repurposed into a Christian church that venerated martyrs and saints. Those who trace the history of All Saint’s Day attribute this building with the beginnings of the observance. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III changed the date to November 1 when he dedicated a chapel at the Vatican in honor of all the saints.
What is a saint?
What makes one a saint? The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops defines saints as “persons in heaven (officially canonized or not), who lived heroically virtuous lives, offered their life for others, or were martyred for the faith, and who are worthy of imitation.”
Saints are people we look to for inspiration, whom we model our lives after. But canonized saints aren’t the only ones we remember on All Saints Day, explains Father Ayala, Director of Liturgy at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
“When we pray the Apostles’ Creed, we say, ‘I believe in…the communion of saints,’” says Fr. Ayala. “The communion of saints is made up of men and women who have placed their hope in Jesus Christ and through Baptism, are his adopted sons and daughters.”
How we celebrate
One great tradition and practice associated with the Solemnity of All Saints is going to Mass – it is, after all, a Holy Day of Obligation! Every time we go to Mass, we remember the saints in a special way in the Eucharist. All Saints Day comes from a conviction that there is a spiritual connection between those in Heaven and on Earth. During Mass, the Beatitudes are read and prayers are said for the saints. Many people visit gravesites of loved ones and relatives to pay tribute and remember those who have passed on to heaven.
Other traditional activities for All Saints Day come as no surprise: reading and learning about the saints, praying to the saints – especially one’s confirmation saint – and asking for their intercession so that we, too might become saints.
To illustrate the point, Fr. Ayala shared one of his favorite quotations, from Saint (Mother) Teresa of Calcutta: “holiness is not the luxury of a few people, but a simple duty for you and me.”
As Halloween approaches this year, remember the reason for the holiday (holy day) and say a little prayer to the souls of those we have loved and lost.