Masses will be held on Friday, November 1
- 6:30 AM
- 9:00 AM
- 12:10 PM
- 5:30 PM
- 7:00 PM
- 8:15 PM (Spanish)
The Solemnity of All Saints is a holy day of obligation on which we celebrate the Church Triumphant — all the Saints in Heaven, canonized or unknown. Some may prepare for this feast by praying the All Saints Novena starting on October 23 and ending on October 31.
In anticipation of All Souls’ Day tomorrow, when night comes on All Saints, we darken the room, light a candle (one blessed at Candlemas if possible), and pray the Rosary for our dead. Praying the 129th Psalm (the De Profundis) and/or the Litany of the Saints would also be lovely.
As to special foods for this feast, in Austria and Bavaria, Germany, a sweet yeast bread called Allerheiligenstriezel — “striezel” for short — is given by godparents to their godchildren on this day. In Tuscany, a bread called Pane Coi Santi is eaten — but it must be prepared starting two days before, including a day for the bread to rest and “ripen”. From Naples via Sicily come chocolatey-spicy, cake-like cookies called Rame di Napoli, or “Neopolitan Coppers,” They’re often given to children as gifts “from” their ancestors and relatives who’ve died.
As to music, the classic for the day is “Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones” about the angels and Saints who guard and pray for us. And for the car ride home after Mass, there’s the most requested jazz standard in the world, a song that began as a spiritual: When the Saints Go Marching In.
For lots to read about the Saints, see this Catholic Library for free books in pdf format.