The Catholic Church remembers and prays with certain Saints, normally on the day when they completed their earthly pilgrimage and entered into eternal life, but today we celebrate the Solemnity of the All the Saints: those that are known, and those who are unknown.
On 13 May 609 or 610, Pope Boniface IV consecrated the Pantheon in Rome to the Blessed Virgin and all the martyrs, ordering an anniversary; the feast of the dedication Sanctae Mariae ad Martyres has been celebrated at Rome ever since. There is evidence that from the 5th to the 7th centuries there existed in certain places and at sporadic intervals a feast date on 13 May to celebrate the holy martyrs. The origin of All Saints' Day cannot be traced with certainty, however some believe that it traces its origins to the pagan observation of the Feast of Lemeures in which the malevolent and restless spirits of the dead were exorcised from people's homes.
The feast of All Saints, on its current date, is traced to the foundation by Pope Gregory III (731–741) of an oratory in Saint Peter's for the relics of the holy apostles and of all saints, martyrs and confessors, of all the just made perfect who are at rest throughout the world, with the date moved to 1 November and 13 May feast suppressed.
All Saints Day thus commemorates all those who have attained the beatific vision in heaven: the ones who are referred to by Jesus as blessed because they have fulfilled the corporal works of mercy (cf Mt 5:1-12). Let us pray today with all those who have preceded us in faith. At the beginning of this month, during which we remember and pray for the repose of the souls of all those who have completed their earthly pilgrimages, we ask them to pray with us too, that we may be able to live according to the will of our heavenly Father and look forward to the day when we too will reach our eternal reward.
Have a great feast day.
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