All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day services 2025
Everyone has heard of Halloween – time for Trick or Treating for the kids, fancy dress and apple-bobbing. But not so well known are the Church feasts connected with it. Halloween, or Hallowe’en, is the eve of the feast of All Hallows, or All Saints as it’s now called in modern English.
Celebrated on 1st November each year, All Saints’ Day is the feast day of all the saints in Heaven – both those recognised by the Church as holy men and women, and those whose names we do not know. It is a Holy Day of Obligation.
Following it, on 2nd November, comes All Souls’ Day, a day set aside to pray for the souls of the faithful departed, especially those who are in purgatory, undergoing purification before entering the fullness of heaven. It is a day of mercy, remembrance and hope, trusting in God’s promise of eternal life.
One of the most traditional practices on All Souls Day is visiting the graves of deceased loved ones and offering prayers for their souls. Many choose to light a candle at their loved ones’ resting place, the flames symbolising the light of Christ and the hope of eternal life.
Together, All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days are a beautiful reflection of the communion of saints: the faithful in heaven, the souls in purgatory, and those of us still living on earth.
If you’d like to join a celebration, here are some going on in Bristol.
Sunday 2nd November – The Solemnity of All Saints (this year celebrated on Sunday 2nd November)
- Clifton Cathedral, 7.30am, 9.30am, 11.15am, 6.00pm
- St Augustine of Canterbury, 9.30am
- St Nicholas of Tolentino, 10am
- St Patrick’s, 8.30am, 10am, 5.30pm (Brazilian Mass)
- St Joseph’s, 10am, 6pm
- St Teresa of the Child Jesus, 9.15am, 10.30am
- Bristol South Cemetery, Bridgwater Road, BS13 7AS – Polish service 2.30pm
- Holy Souls Cemetery, Bath Road, BS4 3LA – Polish service 3.30pm
Monday 3rd November – All Souls
- Clifton Cathedral, 8.00am, 9.30pm, and a sung mass with excerpts from Faure’s Requiem at 6.30pm
- St Augustine of Canterbury, 10am
- St Nicholas of Tolentino, Parish Requiem Mass 7pm
- St Patrick’s, 9.15am
- St Joseph’s, 6.30pm
- St Teresa of the Child Jesus, 7pm
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