All Saints Day is the Church’s great feast of every saint in heaven: the famous ones on the calendar and the countless men, women and children whose holiness was known only to God and to the people who loved them. It is celebrated on November 1. In 2026 it falls on a Sunday, so the Mass of All Saints replaces the Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time and the usual Sunday obligation covers it.
All Saints Day is a solemnity, the highest rank of celebration, and in most years it is a holy day of obligation in the United States. Here is what the day means, what is read at Mass, how the obligation works in 2026 and 2027, where the feast came from, and prayers you can use.
All Saints Day at a glance
- Date: November 1 every year. 2026: Sunday. 2027: Monday. 2028: Wednesday.
- Rank: solemnity.
- Liturgical color: white.
- Holy day of obligation (United States): yes, except when November 1 falls on a Saturday or a Monday. In 2026 it is on a Sunday, so Sunday Mass fulfils it. In 2027 (a Monday) there is no obligation.
- Next day: All Souls Day, November 2, when the Church prays for the dead.
What All Saints Day celebrates
A saint is anyone who has reached the goal of the Christian life: to see God face to face. The Church canonizes some of them, solemnly declaring that they lived heroic virtue and now intercede for us (CCC 828). But most saints were never canonized. All Saints Day is above all their feast: grandparents who prayed every day, missionaries whose names were lost, children who died young in the love of Christ.
The feast proclaims three truths of faith:
- Holiness is for everyone. The Second Vatican Council taught that “all the faithful of Christ of whatever rank or status are called to the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity” (Lumen Gentium 40). All Saints Day reminds us that heaven is meant to be crowded.
- The Church is one family across death. We profess the communion of saints in the Creed: the Church on earth, the souls being purified after death and the saints in glory are united in Christ (CCC 954–959).
- The saints pray for us. “They do not cease to intercede with the Father for us,” the Catechism says (CCC 956). Asking a saint to pray for you is like asking a friend, only the friend is now closer to God.
The Mass readings for All Saints Day
The readings are the same every year:
- First reading: Revelation 7:2–4, 9–14. John sees “a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and tribes, and peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne” (Douay-Rheims).
- Responsorial psalm: Psalm 24, the psalm of those who long to see the face of God.
- Second reading: 1 John 3:1–3. We are God’s children now, and “we shall see him as he is.”
- Gospel: Matthew 5:1–12a, the Beatitudes, which are the portrait of every saint.
For intercessions that follow these readings, use the Prayers of the Faithful for November 1, 2026, or browse all days on Prayers of the Faithful Today.
Is All Saints Day a holy day of obligation?
In the United States, All Saints Day is one of the six holy days of obligation. Since 1993 the U.S. bishops have lifted the obligation when November 1 falls on a Saturday or a Monday (the same rule applies to January 1 and August 15). So:
- 2026 (Sunday): you fulfil the obligation by going to Sunday Mass, which is the Mass of All Saints.
- 2027 (Monday): not obligatory, though Mass is still celebrated and warmly encouraged.
- 2028 (Wednesday): obligatory.
Each bishops’ conference sets the holy days for its own country, so the rule is different elsewhere; in some countries All Saints is not a day of obligation at all, and in others it is moved to the nearest Sunday. Your diocese or parish bulletin will say which applies to you. For every holy day in the next two years, see Holy Days of Obligation 2026 and 2027.
Where All Saints Day came from
The first Christians kept the anniversaries of their martyrs at their tombs. As the number of martyrs grew beyond counting, churches began to honor them all together. In the East a feast of all martyrs was kept in the Easter season, and the Byzantine Churches still celebrate All Saints on the Sunday after Pentecost.
In Rome, Pope Boniface IV consecrated the ancient Pantheon as a church of St. Mary and all the martyrs on May 13 in the year 609 or 610. In the following century Pope Gregory III dedicated a chapel in St. Peter’s Basilica to all the saints, and its anniversary fell on November 1. In 835 Pope Gregory IV, with the Frankish emperor Louis the Pious, extended the November 1 feast throughout the West. From the tenth century, Cluny added All Souls on the following day, and the two feasts have stood side by side ever since.
The evening before All Saints was called All Hallows’ Eve (“hallow” is an old English word for saint), from which we get the word Halloween. See All Hallows’ Eve: is Halloween Catholic?
How to celebrate All Saints Day
- Go to Mass and listen to the Beatitudes as a description of your own vocation.
- Pray the Litany of the Saints as a family (a short version is below).
- Learn about your patron saint. If you do not know who it is, try the Catholic patron saint finder or browse our list of patron saints and the saint of the day calendar.
- Remember the uncanonized saints you knew. Tell your children about a grandparent or friend whose faith shaped you.
- Hold an All Saints party. Many parishes and families invite children to dress as a saint and explain who they are.
- Visit a cemetery. In many countries families visit graves on November 1, and from November 1 to 8 a cemetery visit can gain an indulgence for the souls in purgatory (see All Souls Day).
Prayers for All Saints Day
A short Litany of the Saints
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us.
Saint Michael, Saint Gabriel and Saint Raphael, pray for us.
All holy angels of God, pray for us.
Saint John the Baptist, pray for us.
Saint Joseph, pray for us.
Saint Peter and Saint Paul, pray for us.
Saint Andrew and Saint John, pray for us.
Saint Mary Magdalene, pray for us.
Saint Stephen, pray for us.
Saint Lawrence, pray for us.
Saint Perpetua and Saint Felicity, pray for us.
Saint Agnes, pray for us.
Saint Gregory, pray for us.
Saint Augustine, pray for us.
Saint Benedict, pray for us.
Saint Francis and Saint Dominic, pray for us.
Saint Catherine of Siena, pray for us.
Saint Teresa of Jesus, pray for us.
(Add the patron saints of your family and parish.)
All holy men and women, saints of God, pray for us.
Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
Prayer to all the saints
I wrote this prayer for families to pray together on November 1.
Almighty God, you have surrounded us with so great a cloud of witnesses.
We thank you for every saint who now sees your face: for the apostles and martyrs, for holy men and women in every age, and for those we knew and loved, whose holiness was hidden from the world.
Through their prayers, give us the grace to live the Beatitudes in our own homes and work, to be poor in spirit, merciful and pure of heart, and to hunger for what is right.
Bring us one day to share their joy in your presence, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Te Deum
The Church’s ancient hymn of thanksgiving, sung on solemnities, includes the line “The glorious company of the Apostles praise thee; the goodly fellowship of the Prophets praise thee; the noble army of Martyrs praise thee.” Praying the Te Deum on All Saints Day joins your thanks to theirs.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between All Saints Day and All Souls Day?
All Saints Day (November 1) honors everyone already in heaven. All Souls Day (November 2) is a day of prayer for the dead who are still being purified in purgatory. The first is a solemnity and usually a holy day of obligation; the second is a commemoration and is not. More on the All Souls Day page.
Do Catholics have to go to Mass on All Saints Day in 2026?
Yes, but because November 1, 2026 is a Sunday, the ordinary Sunday Mass is the Mass of All Saints. One Mass fulfils the obligation.
Is All Saints Day a holy day of obligation in 2027?
Not in the United States. November 1, 2027 is a Monday, and the U.S. bishops lift the obligation when November 1 falls on a Saturday or Monday.
Can a Saturday evening Mass count for All Saints?
When All Saints is obligatory on a weekday, a vigil Mass celebrated on the evening before fulfils the obligation. In 2026 the Saturday evening Mass of October 31 is the vigil of the Sunday, which is All Saints, so it counts.
Why is All Saints Day on November 1?
Because of the dedication of a chapel to all the saints in St. Peter’s Basilica by Pope Gregory III in the eighth century, whose anniversary fell on November 1. Gregory IV extended the date to the whole Western Church in 835.
Who counts as a saint on All Saints Day?
Everyone in heaven, canonized or not. That is why the feast is a source of hope for families who have lost someone they believe died in God’s friendship.
Sources
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 828 and 946–962
- Second Vatican Council, Lumen Gentium, chapter V
- USCCB, Complementary Norms: Canon 1246 §2, Holy Days of Obligation
- Lectionary for Mass, Solemnity of All Saints