Why Do Catholics ... ?

What is the difference between All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day?

All Saints’ Day is a solemnity to honor all saints of the Church. In the early days of Christianity, only martyrs and John the Baptist were celebrated on specific days. More saints’ feast days were added as canonization processes were established. Pope Gregory IV (827-844) established this feast day to recall saints’ holiness for the entire Church, according to The Catholic Encyclopedia. All Souls’ Day, on the other hand, remembers all the faithful departed; the Church on earth prays for the deceased.


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Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne attends a German Synodal Way assembly on March 9, 2023.

Four German Bishops Resist Push to Install Permanent ‘Synodal Council’

Given the Vatican’s repeated interventions against the German process, the bishops said they would instead look to the Synod of Bishops in Rome. Meanwhile, on Monday, German diocesan bishops approved the statutes for a synodal committee; and there are reports that the synodal committee will meet again in June.

Palestinian Christians celebrate Easter Sunday Mass at Holy Family Church in Gaza City on March 31, amid the ongoing battles Israel and the Hamas militant group.

People Explain ‘Why I Go to Mass’

‘Why go to Mass on Sundays? It is not enough to answer that it is a precept of the Church. … We Christians need to participate in Sunday Mass because only with the grace of Jesus, with his living presence in us and among us, can we put into practice his commandment, and thus be his credible witnesses.’ —Pope Francis