11/1 All Saints Day Solemnity
Holy Day of Obligation Masses: 6:00 En, 7:00 Pl, 8:00 En, 12:30 Pl, 5:30 En, 7:00 Pl
Christians have been honoring saints and martyrs since at least the second century AD. Initially the calendars of saints and martyrs varied by location, with churches honoring local saints. However, gradually feast days became more universal. The first reference to a general feast celebrating all saints occurs in St Ephrem the Syrian (d. AD 373). St. John Chrysostom (d. AD 407) assigned a day to the feast, the first Sunday after Pentecost, where in the Eastern Churches the feast is celebrated to this day. In the West, this date was probably originally used, and then the feast was moved to May 13th. The current observance (November 1) probably originates from the time of Pope Gregory III (d. AD 741)