SOLEMNITY OF ALL SAINTS | The very first All Saints’ Day was celebrated on May 13, 609 AD, when Pope Boniface IV consecrated the ancient Roman Pantheon as a Christian church dedicated to the Virgin Mary and all martyrs.
The current date of November 1 was established by Pope Gregory III during his pontificate (731–741 AD) when he dedicated a chapel in Rome’s St. Peter’s Basilica in honor of all saints.
While this celebration was originally limited to Rome, Pope Gregory IV later ordered the official observance of All Saints’ Day every November 1 in 837 AD, extending its celebration to the entire universal Church.
The Solemnity honors all saints, not just the officially canonized ones, but also the countless ordinary people believed to have reached heaven whose names were never formally recorded.
Interestingly this year, the Solemnity of All Saints takes the place of the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time in the Liturgical Calendar.
The observance of the solemnity begins with evening prayer (First Vespers) on the evening before, October 31, known as All Hallows’ Eve or Halloween and is followed on November 2 by All Souls’ Day.
As we remember the great communion of saints in heaven, we are reminded that holiness is not reserved for the past.
We too can become those “saints next door” whom Pope Francis speaks about – that is, men and women who are reconciled with themselves, with others, and with God, and who are able to shine the light of God’s merciful love within the flow of everyday life.
All Holy Saints, pray for us!