Understanding the meaning of All Saints' Day

Catholics celebrate All Saints' Day on November 1 to honor both known and unknown saints. The Church honors the multitude of people who served as witnesses to Christ. Known saints are those officially declared through the canonization process, while unknown saints are anonymous individuals who served God and their neighbors.

Father Jean Joncheray stated that the feast expresses Christian joy and hope by reminding the faithful of their personal call to holiness. He noted that the lives of the saints show possible paths to happiness and that death is a passage following the risen Christ.

At the 2011 World Youth Day in Madrid, Pope Benedict XVI told young people not to fear being saints. Pope Leo XIV repeated this exhortation during a vigil at the Stade de France on September 25, telling the crowd they are the saints of France.