All Saints’ Day is a Christian festival that honors all those people who are considered saints by the church. The festival was originally celebrated on May 13, but Pope Gregory III changed the date to November 1 when he dedicated a chapel at the Vatican in honor of all the saints. The festival goes back to the fourth century when Greek Christians kept a festival on the first Sunday after Pentecost in honor of all martyrs and saints. The festival is also known as All Hallows’ Day, the Feast of All Saints, and Hallowmas. On this day, Catholics are expected to attend Mass. It is an obligation day for us. All Saints’ Day, observed in the Christian church, is a day dedicated to commemorating all the saints—both known and unknown—who have attained heaven. The history of this day dates back to the 4th century, when Romans, amidst increasing persecution of Christians, began dedicating their own days to celebrate the martyrs and saints they admired. However, it wasn’t until the 7th century under Pope Boniface IV that All Saints’ Day was officially
established as a holiday.
All Souls’ Day is a Christian tradition to remember and pray for the dead, especially those in Purgatory, on November 2. All Souls’ Day, in Roman Catholicism, is a day for commemoration of all the faithful departed, those baptized Christians who are believed to be in purgatory because they died with the guilt of lesser sins on their souls. Roman Catholic doctrine holds that the prayers of the faithful on earth will help cleanse these souls in order to fit them for the vision of God in heaven, and the day is dedicated to prayer and remembrance. Requiem Masses are commonly held, and many
people visit and sometimes decorate the graves of loved ones. The date, which became practically universal before the end of the 13th century, was chosen to follow All Saints’ Day. Having celebrated the feast of all the members of the church who are believed to be in heaven, the church on earth turns, on the next day, to commemorate those souls believed to be suffering in purgatory.
We shall remember our beloved ones not only on All Soul’s Day but all the days of our lives. When we pray for them, we have to teach our children to do the same, so that in the future, there will be someone to pray for us. You know that people already gone from this world can do nothing—that is why the church is asking the living ones to pray for the dead. Visiting a Cemetery on the day of All Souls also provides an indulgence. A plenary indulgence, applicable only to the souls in purgatory, is granted each and every day from November 1st to Nov 8th, through those who devoutly visit a cemetery and there pray, if only mentally, for the departed; on other days of the year, it is partial. We shall visit as many as we can and save the souls in purgatory.

Love and prayers,

Fr. Charley