Students, faculty and staff filed into the Welch Activity Center on Nov. 1 following F period to celebrate Mass.

The feast day of All Saints’ Day is celebrated every year on Nov. 1. All Saints’ Day honors the many canonized and uncanonized saints of the Catholic Church, is followed by All Souls’ Day, and is a day of obligation for Catholics. 

Director of campus ministry Mr. Dave Neeson said that the Mass “celebrates all of the saints in Heaven. (Nov. 2) is All Souls’ Day, which recognizes all people that have passed away.”

Mass began with the choir singing a song that included the names of saints followed by “pray for us.” Neeson also said that different cultures were incorporated into the Mass with the prayers of the faithful being read in different languages.

The second reading was said in Spanish as well. Fr. Emanuel Kallarackal C.S.C. said that the first reading was from the book of Revelation. “It speaks about the call to holiness and how the saints are washed in the blood of Christ,” he said. The second reading was about the call to holiness of all baptized people. 

“We hope (Mass) will be an invitation for all the students to accept the call to holiness and to desire to be a saint,” said Fr. Emanuel.

Mass is a time of meditation and a call to sainthood for all. Eucharistic minister and senior Isabel A’Hearn said, “Today I am hoping to just have a reflection day. It was a busy weekend, and I just love starting the week off with Mass.” By remembering the saints in Heaven, A’Hearn said that she is comforted by their support.

Fr. Emanuel spoke on the ability for anyone to be a saint. He said, “We think of holiness and to be a saint is an impossible thing, but if we deeply desire it, we can achieve that holiness and that sainthood, because that is how God created us to be.”