ObservanceMonday, November 1, 2027
All Saints' Day
- Date
- Recurs
- Every year on November 1
- Category
- Celebration
All Saints' Day falls on November 1 in the Western churches and honors all the saints of the church, both the named and the unknown, who have attained heaven. The Eastern churches keep the same commemoration on the first Sunday after Pentecost instead. Its origin cannot be traced with certainty, and the November 1 date arrived long after the feast itself — by way of a Roman chapel dedication, an English monk's calendar, and finally a papal order.
History
The feast is older than its November date. According to Ephraem Syrus, who died around 373, a feast of all martyrs was kept on May 13 in the Eastern church, and that may be why Pope Boniface IV chose May 13 when he dedicated the Pantheon in Rome as a church in honor of the Blessed Virgin and all martyrs in 609. Its origin cannot be traced with certainty, and no single pope founded it.
The first evidence for November 1, and for widening the feast from martyrs to all saints, comes from the reign of Pope Gregory III, who held the office from 731 to 741 and dedicated a chapel in St. Peter's in Rome on November 1 in honor of all saints. Alcuin kept the day on November 1 in 800, and it appears on that date in a ninth-century English calendar. In 837 Pope Gregory IV ordered its general observance — a date popular retellings usually give as 835.
In medieval England the festival was known as All Hallows, which is where its eve gets the name Halloween.
The obligation attached to the day is current law, not history. Canon 1246 of the Code of Canon Law names All Saints among the days that must be observed in the universal Church alongside Sunday, and lets a conference of bishops suppress some of them or move them to a Sunday with the Apostolic See's prior approval. The United States bishops kept this one: their decree of December 13, 1991 retains "November 1, the solemnity of All Saints," confirmed on July 4, 1992 and effective January 1, 1993.
Timeline
- Before about 373 — A feast of all martyrs is kept on May 13 in the Eastern church, according to Ephraem Syrus, who dies around this year.
- 609 — Pope Boniface IV dedicates the Pantheon in Rome as a church in honor of the Blessed Virgin and all martyrs, on May 13.
- 731 to 741 — Pope Gregory III dedicates a chapel in St. Peter's on November 1 in honor of all saints: the first evidence for the November 1 date and for broadening the feast to all saints.
- 800 — Alcuin keeps All Saints' Day on November 1; the date also appears in a ninth-century English calendar.
- 837 — Pope Gregory IV orders the feast's general observance.
- December 13, 1991 — The United States bishops retain November 1 as a holy day of obligation; the Apostolic See confirms it July 4, 1992, effective January 1, 1993.
How to observe
Check whether the Mass obligation actually applies this year before assuming it does. The same United States norm that retains the day carves out an exception: whenever November 1 falls on a Saturday or on a Monday, the precept to attend Mass is abrogated. The clause covers only January 1, August 15, and November 1, so the answer changes from year to year. In 2026 it falls on a Sunday, which the clause does not cover.
Read the primary documents rather than a summary. Canon 1246 is two sentences long and posted in full on the Vatican's site; the United States norm that modifies it is a single page on the bishops' conference site.
If you keep the day in an Eastern church, the date is the first Sunday after Pentecost — worth knowing before making plans with someone on the other calendar.
Frequently asked questions
Is All Saints' Day always November 1?
In the Western churches, yes. The Eastern churches keep the commemoration on the first Sunday after Pentecost, so it moves with Easter.
Is All Saints' Day a federal holiday in the United States?
No. The federal holidays are those established by 5 U.S.C. 6103 and listed by the Office of Personnel Management, and no November 1 observance appears among them. Offices, banks, and post offices operate normally.
Is All Saints' Day a holy day of obligation?
In the Latin Rite dioceses of the United States, yes — one of six days the bishops retained in their 1991 decree. But the same norm abrogates the precept to attend Mass whenever November 1 falls on a Saturday or a Monday, so in some years it does not apply.
Who started All Saints' Day?
No one person. The origin cannot be traced with certainty: Gregory III is the first evidence for the November 1 date, and Gregory IV ordered general observance in 837, but the feast existed earlier on May 13.
What is the difference between All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day?
All Saints' Day, November 1, honors the saints in heaven. All Souls' Day, November 2, remembers the dead more broadly. With Halloween they form a stretch sometimes called Allhallowtide.
When is All Saints' Day?
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2027 | November 1 | Monday |
| 2028 | November 1 | Wednesday |
| 2029 | November 1 | Thursday |
| 2030 | November 1 | Friday |
| 2031 | November 1 | Saturday |
Sources
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, All Saints' Day — https://www.britannica.com/topic/All-Saints-Day → the November 1 date in the Western churches and the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Eastern churches; that the origin cannot be traced with certainty; Ephraem Syrus and the May 13 feast of all martyrs; Boniface IV's 609 dedication of the Pantheon; Gregory III (731-741) as the first evidence for November 1 and for broadening the feast to all saints; Alcuin in 800 and the ninth-century English calendar; Gregory IV ordering general observance in 837; All Hallows and Halloween; the Allhallowtide triduum of October 31 to November 2; the feast as usually a holy day of obligation in Roman Catholicism.
- Holy See, Code of Canon Law, Book IV, canons 1244-1253 — https://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/eng/documents/cic_lib4-cann1244-1253_en.html → canon 1246 section 1 naming All Saints among the days that must be observed in the universal Church; canon 1246 section 2 allowing a conference of bishops to suppress some holy days or transfer them to a Sunday with the prior approval of the Apostolic See.
- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Canon 1246, section 2 - Holy Days of Obligation (complementary norm) — https://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/canon-law/complementary-norms/canon-1246 → the December 13, 1991 decree and its list of six retained holy days including November 1, the solemnity of All Saints; the clause abrogating the precept to attend Mass whenever January 1, August 15, or November 1 falls on a Saturday or a Monday; confirmation by the Congregation for Bishops on July 4, 1992 and the effective date of January 1, 1993.
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Federal Holidays — https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/federal-holidays/ → the public holidays established by 5 U.S.C. 6103; All Saints' Day does not appear on the list.
- Note on the year of general observance: many popular accounts give 835 for Gregory IV's order, usually by way of an edict of Louis the Pious. Britannica gives 837. The two were not averaged; the more authoritative source was followed and the discrepancy is flagged here.
Add to your calendarA calendar file for Apple Calendar, Google Calendar or Outlook. The event repeats every year. You can also subscribe to this observance or to the whole calendar.
← See everything November 1 celebrates