All Saints’ Day Masses to be celebrated October 31 and November 1

On the Solemnity of All Saints (Wednesday, November 1), more commonly known as All Saints’ Day, Catholics celebrate the saints, both known and unknown, and honor all those who have been faithful disciples of Christ and who now rejoice in God’s presence. This includes not only the saints whose names quickly come to mind, such as St. Augustine, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Anthony of Padua, or St. Thérèse of Lisieux, but people we may have known in our own lives.

“The emphasis is on ‘all,’” Bishop Robert Deeley said. “The Feast of All Saints honors all those baptized Christians who have lived good Christian lives. They have died, and we believe they are now with God in glory. Certainly, each of us knows people in our lives who have given of themselves for others and who have lived lives of great holiness. Those, too, are the saints we honor on this day.”

Bishop Deeley will celebrate Mass on All Saints’ Day at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, 307 Congress Street in Portland, at 12:15 p.m.

Listings of All Saints’ Day Masses at churches around the diocese can be found at www.portlanddiocese.org/All-Saints-Day-Masses (listed by city/town) and at www.portlanddiocese.org/all-saints-day-mass-times-parish (listed by parish). The Solemnity of All Saints is a holy day of obligation.