Q: What’s the difference between All Saints’ and All Souls’?
A: While both All Saint’s Day and All Souls’ Day are Christian holidays that commemorate the dead, each one highlights a particular group of the deceased.
On November 1, All Saints’ Day, we honor martyrs and all who are in heaven, especially those lesser-known saints who do not have their own individual feast days in the liturgical calendar. It is a Holy Day of Obligation.
All Souls’ Day is also called the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed and falls on November 2nd. On this day, we pray for those who have died but who have not yet achieved heaven—the souls in purgatory.