All Saints' Day vs. All Souls' Day comes down to one difference. All Saints' Day (November 1) celebrates everyone already in heaven, while All Souls' Day (November 2) is for praying for all the faithful departed who may still be on their way there. In 2026, All Saints' Day falls on Sunday, November 1, and All Souls' Day on Monday, November 2.
✦ In this guide
All Saints' Day vs. All Souls' Day at a glance
The short version: on November 1 the saints pray for us, and on November 2 we pray for our dead. Together the two days take in the whole family of God, living and departed, which the Church calls the communion of saints.
| All Saints' Day | All Souls' Day | |
|---|---|---|
| Date in 2026 | Sunday, Nov. 1 | Monday, Nov. 2 |
| Who is remembered | Every saint in heaven, famous or unknown | All the faithful departed, especially those still being purified |
| Mood | Celebration | Prayer and remembrance |
| Vestment color | White | Violet or black |
| Mass obligation | Yes (and a Sunday this year) | No, though priests may offer three Masses |
| Typical customs | Mass, saint stories, saint costumes | Cemetery visits, candles, prayers for the dead |
What All Saints' Day celebrates
All Saints' Day honors every person who died in God's friendship and now sees Him face to face. The famous names are included, but the feast really belongs to the uncounted ones: the grandmother who prayed the Rosary at the kitchen table every morning, the quiet usher nobody will ever canonize. The first reading at Mass is Revelation's vision of "a great multitude, which no man could number" (Revelation 7:9), and the Gospel is the Beatitudes.
✝ "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,"
— Hebrews 12:1 (KJV)
The feast grew out of early celebrations of the martyrs. On May 13 in 609 or 610, Pope Boniface IV dedicated Rome's Pantheon to Mary and all the martyrs. Pope Gregory III (731-741) later dedicated a chapel in St. Peter's to all the saints on November 1, and in the 9th century Gregory IV extended the feast to the whole Church. Britannica's history of All Saints' Day covers the details.
Halloween is simply the night before. "Hallow" is an old English word for a saint, so All Hallows' Eve is All Saints' Eve. This year, because November 1 is a Sunday, All Saints' replaces the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time. Your usual Sunday Mass, including a Saturday evening vigil, will be the Mass of All Saints.
Catholics aren't the only ones keeping it. Lutherans, Anglicans and Methodists celebrate All Saints' too, and many congregations read aloud the names of members who died during the year, often on the first Sunday of November.
What All Souls' Day is for
All Souls' Day, officially the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, is about the people we've lost. Catholics believe that some who die in God's grace still need purification before they enter the joy of heaven. The Church calls this purgatory, and it isn't a second chance or a halfway hell. The Catechism describes it as the final purification of people who are already assured of salvation.
Our prayers can help them, above all the Mass. As the Catechism puts it, "From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them." Even if you don't share the doctrine, you may recognize the instinct: love doesn't stop at the graveside.
Around the year 1000, St. Odilo, abbot of the great monastery of Cluny in France, set aside November 2 for prayer for all the dead in his monasteries. The custom spread across Europe and reached Rome by the 13th century. It isn't a holy day of obligation, but every priest may celebrate three Masses that day, a privilege Pope Benedict XV extended to all priests during World War I.
There's also a long-standing gift for the dead. From November 1 to 8, Catholics can gain a plenary indulgence, applicable only to the souls in purgatory, by visiting a cemetery and praying for the dead, with the usual conditions of confession, Communion and prayer for the Pope's intentions. At the grave, hold on to the promise behind all of it: "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live" (John 11:25).
How the world keeps both days
Every culture that keeps these days ends up in the same place: the cemetery, with flowers, candles and family.
- Mexico. Día de los Muertos fills November 1 and 2. Families build home altars (ofrendas) with photos, candles, orange cempasúchil marigolds and pan de muerto, and in many places November 1 is for children who have died and November 2 for adults. UNESCO added the tradition to its cultural heritage list in 2008.
- The Philippines. During Undas, families clean and repair tombs, then stay for long cemetery reunions with food, prayers and candles.
- Poland. November 1 is a public holiday, and families tend graves, leave flowers and light candles, so cemeteries glow after dark.
- France. La Toussaint means chrysanthemums. Pots of them appear on graves all over the country.
- Louisiana. New Orleans families have long cleaned and whitewashed their above-ground tombs for All Saints'. In Lacombe, a priest blesses the cemeteries that afternoon and families light white candles on the graves at dusk.
- England. Children once went "souling," going door to door for small soul cakes in exchange for prayers for the dead.
How your family can mark both days in 2026
The calendar is kind this year: a Saturday, a Sunday and a Monday in a row. You don't need a big plan. Pick one thing for each day.
✓ Quick checklist
- ✓ Sat., Oct. 31: dress the kids as saints and have each one explain who they are.
- ✓ Sun., Nov. 1: All Saints' Mass, then a saint story at dinner by candlelight.
- ✓ Mon., Nov. 2: visit the cemetery, tidy the grave and pray the Eternal Rest prayer.
- ✓ All of November: write down the names of your dead and pray for them by name.
For Sunday dinner, let each person share the saint they're named after or would choose. Our guide to patron saint medals works as a cheat sheet when the kids draw a blank.
For Monday, this is the prayer to say at the grave, in a car outside the hospital, or at the kitchen table:
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
If the grave is far away, bring the grave home. Set a framed photo on a side table with a candle for the week; an Engraved Wood Memorial Photo Frame ($44.90) gives it a fitting home. Many parishes keep a Book of the Dead near the altar all November, where you can write a name. At home, a Wooden Prayer Box ($49.00) does the same job: one card per name, prayed through each night of the month.
If you can visit, a Solar Memorial Cross ($42.00) charges by day and glows at dusk, which means the grave isn't dark when you drive away. Check your cemetery's decoration rules first; some limit what can stay on a plot.
If someone you know is facing their first November since a death, these days can sting. A note that names the person they lost, sent the week of All Souls', means more than you'd think. Our guide to sympathy gifts that comfort has more ideas.
Frequently asked questions
Is All Souls' Day a holy day of obligation?
No. All Souls' Day is not a holy day of obligation, so Catholics aren't required to attend Mass on November 2. Going is still a beautiful way to pray for loved ones who have died, and every priest may celebrate three Masses that day, which usually means more Mass times than on an ordinary Monday.
Is All Saints' Day a holy day of obligation in 2026?
Yes, and it's easy this year because November 1, 2026 falls on a Sunday. The Mass of All Saints replaces the regular Sunday readings, so your usual Sunday Mass or Saturday evening vigil covers it. In the US, when November 1 falls on a Saturday or a Monday, the obligation is lifted.
Is Día de los Muertos the same as All Souls' Day?
Not exactly. Día de los Muertos is a Mexican celebration on November 1 and 2 that blends Catholic All Saints' and All Souls' customs with Indigenous traditions, including home altars and marigolds. Many Catholic families keep both: Mass and prayers for the dead alongside the ofrenda. It isn't a Mexican version of Halloween.
Do Protestants celebrate All Saints' Day?
Many do. Lutherans, Anglicans and Methodists keep All Saints' Day, often on the first Sunday of November, and many churches read the names of members who died that year. All Souls' Day is less common outside Catholicism, though Anglicans may keep it as an optional commemoration of the faithful departed.
The two days belong together. On the first, we look up at the ones who made it home. On the second, we turn around and pray for the ones still on the way, and for the empty chairs at our own tables. Both days end in the same hope.
