Notre Dame de Rouen. The façade of the Gothic Church in France. Photographer: Hippo1947. Licence: SHUTTERSTOCK.

24 October, 2026

Saint Raphael The Archangel. Whose Feast Day Is, Today, 24 October. White Vestments.



Archangel Raphael with Bishop Domonte.
Artist: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617–1682).
Current location: Pushkin Museum, Moscow, Russia.
Source/Photographer: http://www.allposters.com/-sp/
Transferred from en.wikipedia 2007-11-26
(original upload date).
Original uploader was Commment at en.wikipedia.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Text from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia,
unless stated otherwise.

Raphæl (Standard Hebrew רָפָאֵל, Rāfāʾēl, “It Is God Who Heals”, “God Heals”, “God, Please Heal”) is an Archangel of Judaism and Christianity, who, in the Judeo-Christian Tradition, performs all manner of healing. 

In Islam, Raphæl is the same as Israfil. Raphæl is mentioned in the Book of Tobit, which is accepted as Canonical by Catholics, Orthodox, and some Anglo-Catholics, and as useful for public teaching by Lutherans and Anglicans.

The Angels, mentioned in the Torah, the older Books of the Hebrew Bible, are without names. Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish of Tiberias (230 A.D. – 270 A.D.), asserted that all the specific names for the Angels were brought back by the Jews from Babylon, and modern commentators would tend to agree.

Raphael is named in several Jewish Apocryphal Books (see below).

The Archangel Raphael bound Azazel under a desert, which was called Dudael, according to Enoch 10:4–6:

And again The Lord said to Raphael: “Bind Azazel hand and foot, and cast him into the darkness; and make an opening in the desert, which is in Dudael, and cast him therein. And place upon him rough and jagged rocks, and cover him with darkness, and let him abide there for ever, and cover his face that he may not see light. And, on the day of The Great Judgement, he shall be cast into The Fire”.


[Editor: Pope Benedict XV extended
the Feast Day of Saint Raphael
to the whole of The Catholic Church in 1921.]
Photo de Benoît XV prise vers 1915.
Source: Library of Congress.
Author: Unknown.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Of seven Archangels in the Angelology of Post-Exilic Judaism, only Michæl, mentioned as Archangel (Daniel 12:1; Jude, verse 9), and Gabriel, are mentioned by name in the Scriptures that came to be accepted as Canonical by all Christians.

The name of the Angel Raphael, appears only in the Deuterocanonical Book of Tobit. The Book of Tobit is considered Canonical by Catholics, Orthodox, and some Anglicans. Raphael first appears disguised in human form as the travelling companion of Tobit’s son, Tobiah (Greek: Τωβίας/Tobias), calling himself “Azarias, the son of the great Ananias”. 

During the course of the journey, the Archangel’s protective influence is shown in many ways, including the binding of a demon in the desert of Upper Egypt. After returning, and healing the blind Tobit, Azarias makes himself known as “the Angel Raphael, one of the seven who stand before The Lord” (Tobit 12:15). He is often Venerated and Patronised as Saint Raphael the Archangel.

Regarding the healing powers attributed to Raphael, we have his declaration to Tobit (Tobit, 12) that he was sent by The Lord to heal him of his blindness and to deliver Sarah, his future daughter-in-law, from the demon Asmodeus, who kills every man she marries, on their wedding night, before the marriage can be consummated.


English: Tobias and the Angel
(Tob. 6:1-18).
Русский: Товия и ангел
(Тов. 6:1-18).
Date: 1866.
Source: Doré’s English Bible.
Author: Gustave Doré (1832–1883).
(Wikimedia Commons)


In the New Testament, only the Archangels Gabriel and Michael are mentioned by name (Luke 1:9-26; Jude 1:9). Later manuscripts of John 5:1-4 refer to the Pool at Bethesda, where the multitude of the infirm lay, awaiting the moving of the water, for “an Angel of The Lord descended at certain times into the pond; and the water was moved. And he that went down first into the pond, after the motion of the water, was made whole of whatsoever infirmity he lay under”. Because of the healing role assigned to Raphael, this particular Angel is generally associated with the Archangel.

Raphael is sometimes shown as standing atop a large fish, or holding a caught fish at the end of a line. This is a reference to the Book of Tobit (Tobias), where he told Tobias to catch a fish, and then uses the gall-bladder to heal Tobit’s eyes, and to drive away Asmodeus by burning the heart and liver.

Due to his actions in the Book of Tobit and the Gospel of John, Saint Raphael is accounted Patron of travellers, the Blind, happy meetings, nurses, physicians, medical workers, matchmakers, Christian marriage, and Catholic studies.


Saint Raphael’s Roman Catholic Church,
Photo: 26 November 2008.
Source: Own work.
Author: Mattinbgn
(Wikimedia Commons)


As a particular enemy of the devil, he was revered in Catholic Europe as a special protector of Catholic sailors. On a corner of Venice’s famous Doge’s Palace, there is a Relief, depicting Raphael holding a scroll, on which is written: “Efficia fretum quietum” (“Keep the Gulf quiet”).

On 8 July 1497, when Vasco Da Gama set forth from Lisbon, Portugal, with his four-ship fleet to sail to India, the flagship was named, at the King of Portugal’s insistence, Saint Raphael. 

When the flotilla reached the Cape of Good Hope on 22 October 1497, the sailors disembarked and erected a Column in the Archangel’s honour. The little statue of Saint Raphael, that accompanied Da Gama on the voyage, is now in the Naval Museum in Lisbon, Portugal.

The Feast Day of Raphael was included for the first time in the General Roman Calendar in the year 1921, for Celebration on 24 October [Editor: Pope Benedict XV extended the Feast of Saint Raphael to the whole Catholic Church in 1921]. 

With the reform of the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints 
in 1969, this Feast was Transferred to 29 September, for Celebration together with Saints Michael and Gabriel (both Archangels). Due to Pope Benedict XVI’s Summorum Pontificum, the Roman Catholic Church still permits use of the 1962 Calendar, allowing both Feast Days.


 Church of Saint Raphael The Archangel,
Montreal, Canada.
Église Saint-Raphael-Archange,
Montreal, Canada.
Photo: 30 July 2011.
Source: Own work.
Author: Jeangagnon
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Archangel Raphæl is said to have appeared in Cordoba, Spain, during the 16th-Century; in response to the City’s appeal, Pope Innocent X allowed the local Celebration of a Feast in the Archangel’s honour on 7 May, the date of the principal Apparition.

Saint John of God, Founder of the Hospital Order that bears his name, is also said to have received Visitations from Saint Raphæl, who encouraged and instructed him. 

In tribute to this, many of the Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God’s facilities are called “Raphæl Centres”, to this day. The 18th-Century Neapolitan Nun, Saint Maria Francesca of The Five Wounds, is also said to have seen an Apparition of Raphæl.

Raphael is honoured in Islam as one of the great Archangels and is known more commonly as “Israfil” or “Israfel” in Islamic history.


English: 
Church of The Holy Archangels Raphael and Michael,
Aleksandrów Łódzki, Poland,
Deutsch: Aleksandrów Łódzki, römisch-katholische
Kirche der Hl. Erzengel Rafael und Michael.
Italiano: Aleksandrów Łódzki, Chiesa romana-cattolica
dei SS. Arcangeli Raffaele e Michele.
Русский: Александрув-Лодзинский, костёл Св.
Архангелов Рафаила и Михаила.
Photo: 26 May 2007.
Source: Own work.
Author: KKK2352
(Wikimedia Commons)


According to “the Hadith”, he is the Angel responsible for signalling the coming of Judgement Day by blowing the trumpet (namely Sûr). According to tradition, the trumpet will be blown three times.

The first blow of the trumpet will signal the beginning of the Last Day and the second blow will signal the death of all living things, and the third blow will signal the time when all the Souls from all ages will be gathered for the Last Judgement. According to the Quran, an unnamed Trumpet-Angel, assumed to be Israfel, has been holding his breath, waiting for Allah’s order to blow the Sûr.

The Angel Raphael, along with many other prominent Angels, appears in John Milton’s Paradise Lost, in which he is assigned by God to re-warn Adam concerning the sin of eating of the Tree of The Knowledge of Good and Evil. He also expounds to Adam, the War in Heaven, in which Lucifer and the demons fell, and the creation of the Earth.


Saint Michael’s Church, Ballinasloe, County Galway, Ireland. East Window, by Frederick Settle Barff (1823–1886), depicting the Assumption (top Light), the Archangels Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and an Angel blowing the Last Trumpet (upper row), and Saints Patrick, Bridget, Dymphna, and Brendan (lower row). The Tracery matches that of the East Window of Kilconnell Friary (see small picture, below).
Photo: 15 September 2010.
Source: Own work.
Reference: 2010/9614.
(Wikimedia Commons)


(see Note, above).


The following Text is from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

Saint Raphael The Archangel.
   Feast Day 24 October.

Double.

White Vestments.


Saint Raphael is one of The Seven Spirits who always stand before The Lord (Antiphon at The Magnificat) and offer Him the Incense of their Adoration and that of men (Offertory).

"While thou didst Pray with tears," he declared to Tobias, "and didst bury the dead, and didst leave thy dinner to conceal the dead in thy house by day, and by night didst bury them, I presented thy Prayer unto The Lord. And because thy wast agreeable to The Lord, it was necessary that temptation should try thee" (Second Lesson at Matins).

Tobias became blind. "The loss of his eye-sight," says Saint Augustine, "was the occasion for the old man to receive an Angelical physician" (Fourth Lesson at Matins).


English: The Archangel Raphael with Tobias.
The Church of Saint Michael, Lutzingen, Germany.
Deutsch: Katholische Pfarrkirche St. Michael in Lutzingen, einer Gemeinde im Landkreis Dillingen an der Donau (Bayern), zentrales Chorfenster mit der Darstellung des Erzengels Raphael, der Tobias begleitet.
Photo: 2 December 2010.
Source: Own work.
Author: GFreihalter
(Wikimedia Commons)


Saint Raphael, a name meaning "God Heals", was sent by God to cure Tobias, as He sent the Angel who moved the water in the pool called Probatica (Gospel). He told the younger Tobias what remedy he was to use to restore his father's sight, accompanied and protected the young man on his journey, helped him to find a wife, and warded off the wiles of the devil.

"We praise with sentiments of Veneration," The Church sings, "all The Princes of The Heavenly Court, but in a special manner The Archangel Raphael, healer and faithful companion, who chained down the devil under his power.


English: The Church of Saint Michael in Lutzingen, Germany.
Saint Raphael is depicted in one of the Stained-Glass Windows.
Deutsch: Katholische Pfarrkirche St. Michael in Lutzingen, einer Gemeinde im Landkreis Dillingen an der Donau (Bayern), Innenraum mit Blick zum Chor.
Photo: 2 December 2010.
Source: Own work.
Author: GFreihalter
(Wikimedia Commons)

"O, Christ, King of all goodness, by giving us such a guardian, make it impossible for the enemy to do us harm" (Hymn).

“May the Angel Raphael, physician of our Salvation, help us from the Heights of Heaven, heal all diseases and guide our faltering steps towards the True Life” (Hymn at Lauds).

Pope Benedict XV extended Saint Raphael the Archangel’s Feast Day to the Universal Church in 1921.

Mass: Benedícite Dóminum.
Creed.

23 October, 2026

Rediscovering The Beauty Of Rogation Days.





This Article is taken from, and can be read in full at, LITURGICAL ARTS JOURNAL. By John Paul Sonnen.

The LITURGICAL ARTS JOURNAL Web-Site can be found HERE

The Catholic Church has always been a culturally creative force. It teaches that, throughout the ages of life and the seasons, mankind is being leavened and permeated by a transcendent principle. 

And every part of nature is capable of being influenced and sanctified by this Divine Influence.




The Resurgence Of Rogation Days.

It is a sheer delight to see many young Catholics discovering the lost Tradition of Rogation Days. 

This time-honoured Liturgical custom, Celebrated in the Late-Spring, is when the Faithful petition God for Blessings on agriculture and industry.

Prayers are offered with Penance and supplication, asking God for mercy and protection against disasters, while petitioning for Him to Bless the Earth. 

For The Mass and Procession, the Priest wears Violet, due to it being a Penitential observance.



The Introit (Psalm xvii, 7) for the Mass of Rogation on Rogation Monday (Saint Mary Major), Rogation Tuesday (Saint John Lateran), Rogation Wednesday (Saint Peter’s).
“He heard my voice from His Holy Temple, alleluia; and my cry before Him came into his ears, alleleuia, alleluia. I will love Thee, O Lord, my strength; the Lord is my firmament, my refuge and my deliverer”. Versicle: Glory be to The Father . . .



“Ember Days”
and
“Rogation Days”.
Sermon By: Fr Ripperger.
Available on YouTube

Unfortunately, like many beautiful Traditions tied to Catholic piety, this ancient practice fell out of favour in the Late-1960s, due in large part to misplaced enthusiasm to prioritise Modernity and all things new.

Nevertheless, an all-encompassing part of Society is also agrarian, and we recognise the need to make supplication to Heaven for successful planting, a satisfactory crop, and a bountiful harvest. 

Decent farmers through the ages have always made this their fervent Prayer.

Needless to say, it is not just rural families that depend on agriculture and farming. All of Society rests on the benefits that come from the land. 



The Ancient Custom of Blessing the Fields.
“Rogation Sunday”.
Hever, Kent, England.
Photo: 9 February 1967.
Source: From geograph.org.uk
Author: Ray Trevena
(Wikimedia Commons)

For this reason, The Church has always been eager to prioritise land ownership and farming interests.

Although Ascension Thursday is today downplayed in many Countries, with the Celebration transferred to the following Sunday (by order of the local Bishops’ Conference), the entire week has immense Liturgical import, with three of the Rogation Days [Editor: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday] leading up to it in the same week.


Advert for a Sung Mass, 21 May 2017,
for Rogation Sunday, at Saint-Eugène-Sainte-Cécile, Paris.

In the week of Ascension-Tide, Catholics contemplate Christ Rising in Glory, while the Apostles and Our Lady watch in awe. 

Though He returns to The Father, Christ remains ever-present in the Eucharist and in His Mystical Body, The Church. 

This gives hope for our Prayers.

The rest of this Article may be read at LITURGICAL ARTS JOURNAL HERE


Absurd Victorian Occupations.


A Magnificent, Beautiful, Stunning, Church In Paris: The Church Of Saint-Eugène-Sainte-Cécile.



The Divine Mass. Saint-Eugène - Sainte-Cécile, Paris.


The following Text is taken from, and can be read in full at,

By: JPSonnen

My favourite Church to visit in Paris for Sunday High Mass is the Église Saint-Eugène-Sainte-Cécile.

Catholics who visit Paris should know about this wonderful Church and visit - it is the home of the Vetus Ordo in The Archdiocese of Paris.

Liturgy is done very well here with great care and reverence in a stunningly beautiful Neo-Gothic Church. Also, the Choir is one of the best in France. Every year, I visit in conjunction with the Annual Chartres Pilgrimage and I encourage others to do the same.

Sunday Mass and Vespers is a must. Be sure to make time for the Sunday morning 11:00 a.m. Solemn High Mass - it is nothing short of extraordinary.


Church of Saint-Eugène - Sainte-Cécile, Paris.

The Church is also commonly known as Saint-Eugène. This wonderful community is located in the 9th-Arrondissement of Paris in the historic neighbourhood that was once the traditional Jewish Quarter.

The Church is centrally located, with about a dozen hotels within walking distance. The Parish draws Parishioners from across Paris and beyond. It has also produced a handful of notable Vocations to the Priesthood and Religious Life.

The Church is packed on Sundays with young families with many children who are drawn by the Respect and Devotion shown.

Saint-Eugène Church was built during a time when The Church in France was undergoing a renewal after the Anti-Religious Revolutionary periods. Those years of persecution gave birth to a renewal of the local Church in the Mid-1800s that saw a boom in Catholic Life and Church construction.


On 8 December 2019, the Feast Day of The Immaculate Conception, a Procession of The Immaculate Conception 
took place in the evening from Saint-Eugène - Sainte-Cécile 
to the Church of Notre-Dame-des-Victoires.

The years of trial and persecution contributed to growth that saw the creation of new Religious Orders, new Vocations to the Seminary and Convent, the development of Marian Devotion (connected to the Lourdes Apparitions in 1858), and the successful creation of Catholic Social Movements.

The Church then began to build, everywhere. The Gothic Art, born in France during the Middle-Ages, was rediscovered and Neo-Gothic Churches were planned and constructed across the Land.

As Architects and Artists looked to the Past for their inspiration, France entered into a period of Architectural pastiche, imitating previous styles, including the Gothic.

That period in the history of France is known as The Second Empire (1852-1870). And, like all regimes after the restoration, the Government and People favoured Religious Subjects in the Art that it sponsored.

Expansion of French industry brought with it economic prosperity and an influx of people to the big City. Paris grew from one-million inhabitants around 1850 to two-million by the end of the Century, with the number of Parishes growing from forty-six to sixty-nine.


New Church construction flourished as Paris turned into a vast building site. In fact, it can be said of that period of French history: “No period presents us with so many pieces of Religious Art executed simultaneously by such a large number of distinguished Artists" (Gazette des Beaux-Arts, 1861).

The Church of Saint-Eugène was constructed between 1854-1855 by the Architects Louis-Auguste Boileau and Louis-Adrien Lusson. It was the first Church in France to use an entirely iron-framed structure for construction.

This was inspired by the metal framework construction seen just before, with Baltards's construction in metal of the old Central Halles in Paris in 1854. This innovative new construction method was deemed perfect for a Church, to keep the cost down because it allowed a decrease in the thickness of the masonry walls while also allowing for quick construction, in this case barely twenty months.

The frame was made of metal cast-iron Columns that are attached to the masonry of the Walls, supporting the wrought-iron Trusses, thus avoiding any appearance of heaviness. On each Column, stands Decorated Capitals, moulded in cast-iron and painted in a beautiful array of colour.


The Church of Saint-Eugène-Sainte-Cécile
is located in The 9th-Arrondissement of Paris.

This new Style, employing cast-iron and metal framework, became popular and was used in other neighbouring Church construction, such as with Saint Augustine, also in downtown Paris (built between 1860-1869, it was the first monumental Religious Building in Paris with a metal framework).

Visitors to Saint-Eugène enter and notice the markedly-vertical framework that gives this Church its specific character as the eyes of The Faithful are drawn up to Heaven. In place of the massive Pillars of yesteryear, the thirty-six Columns are as thin as Lances, separating the Nave from the Aisles, with little wooden chairs for The Faithful to use.

The Interior of the Church is absolutely stunning with a colourful, airy space. Facing North, the light of the beautiful afternoon Sun enters the Gothic-inspired Sanctuary, recalling a Holy Place. The display of vivid Stained-Glass Windows harmonises with iron Piers and mouldings that are painted in a variety of colours that match the glow of the Stained-Glass Windows.

Blues, Reds, and Greens, provide for a dark Interior, with mythical Ceiling Vaults. From the entrance, the eye embraces the entire volume of the Church, with the Ceiling decorated with exquisite Stencil Work strewn with Stars in the Neo-Gothic Style, Bright Yellow in the Nave and Midnight Blue in the Apses.


Requiem Mass for King Louis XVI at The Church of 
Saint-Eugène-Sainte-Cécile, 21 January 2020.
Available on YouTube at

The Interior is clearly inspired by Sainte-Chapelle, the Royal Chapel in Paris of the Kings of France. In addition, influences were taken from the Priory of Saint-Martin-des-Champs, an iconic Monastery in Paris that was suppressed during The French Revolution.

The Windows are mostly the work of Master Glassmakers, Lusson, Gsell and Oudinot. Louis-Adrien Lusson and Gaspard Gsell created the main Stained-Glass Windows. The Centre-Piece in the Sanctuary is the Window depicting The Transfiguration of Our Lord.

The unique Stations of The Cross, on the main level, are famous because they are depicted in Stained-Glass, a rare work of Eugène-Stanislas Oudinot. These Windows are resolutely notable because they are the only known example of The Via Crucis realised entirely in Stained-Glass. The Pulpit, alone, is an incredible Work of Art, made of Carved Wood with a beautiful Canopy.


Advert for a Sung Mass, 21 May 2017,
for Rogation Sunday, at Saint-Eugène-Sainte-Cécile.

One of the biggest assets of the Parish is the excellent Choir, the Schola Sainte Cécile. This is one of the finest Church Choirs in the Catholic World. It is directed by the distinguished Mæstro, Henri Adam de Villers, a Graduate of The Sorbonne and an extremely competent Director of Music.

Henri keeps busy, conducting two Church Choirs. He is French and speaks perfect English, a native of the French Island of Réunion in The Indian Ocean. The Choir has an excellent YouTube Channel that I highly recommend for Readers to get a taste of the high-quality music that is made available to all in Paris.

My favourite Hymn sung by the Choir is Domine Salva Fac Galliam, which they sing on patriotic occasions such as the Feast Day of Saint Denis, Patron Saint of Paris and France. The beautiful Pipe Organ of the Church complements the Choir; built by the German Organ builder, Joseph Merklin, who lived in Paris. This same Organ was exhibited at the 1855 Universal Exhibition in Paris before it was installed in the Church. It has thirty-three Stops, three Keyboards of fifty-six Notes each, a Pedal Board of twenty-seven Notes, and 1,941 Pipes.



Saint-Eugène is the same historic Church where Jules Verne was married in 1857, a French novelist and major literary author. It was built by Decree of the Emperor Napoleon III and Dedicated to Saint-Eugène de Deuil-la-Barre in honour of the Emperor's wife, the Empress Eugénie (1826-1920), who was present for the Dedication of the Church.

Although the Church was Consecrated to Saint-Eugène, in 1952 the name of Sainte-Cécile was added as a nod to the Patron Saint of Musicians, due to the close proximity of the Church to the Paris Conservatory, a College of Music Founded in 1795. For this reason, the Church was initially deprived of Bells at the time of its construction, so as to not interfere with the lessons.

Many of the students of Organ Music would visit the Church to practice on the Parish Organ. Although the Church was Blessed and Dedicated in 1855, it was not until The Holy Year 2000 that the fully-completed Interior of the Church was Dedicated by Cardinal Lustiger, Archbishop of Paris. At that time, he also Blessed the new Carillon, a Set of Bells finally installed despite the absence of a Bell Tower. For more historical information on the Church, see HERE.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

A Tour Of A Stunning Catholic Church. Saint John Cantius Church, Chicago.



A Tour Of A Stunning Catholic Church.
Saint John Cantius Church, Chicago.
Available on YouTube

Reclaim Halloween From The Secular Abuses Prevalent Nowadays. Herewith, All Hallows' Eve In The Traditional Pre-1955 Liturgy.



A Jack O’Lantern for the Holywell Manor 
Halloween celebrations.
Photo: 31 October 2003.
Source: Own work.
Illustration: Toby Ord
(Wikipedia)


“Halloween has always belonged properly to The Church,
and, as such, it should be made a key strategic objective
in a cultural “Reconquista”.”


This Article is taken from LITURGICAL ARTS JOURNAL

By: Claudio Salvucci.

Halloween is a Liturgical holiday. Anyone would be forgiven for not knowing that, because almost nobody keeps it that way anymore—to such a degree that some Catholics are of the opinion that we should wash our hands of the whole business. But Halloween has always belonged properly to The Church, and, as such, it should be made a key strategic objective in a cultural “Reconquista”.

To help illustrate why, I’d like to walk through the day of
31 October, not as the World celebrates it, now, but as The Latin Church Celebrated it for Centuries, listed in The Martyrology as “Vigilia Omnium Sanctorum”.



The Morning Offices.

31 October would Traditionally have begun with The Office of Matins before Sun-Rise. Traditionally, Week-Days in October Matins featured Readings from The Book of Maccabees. But, on 31 October, the Readings switch to Luke 6 and Ambrose’s Homily (Sermon) on The Beatitudes.

These Lessons, appointed for Halloween, come from The Common Of Many Martyrs, and we will see this theme of The Beatitudes re-appear, not only later in The Vigil Day, but also in The Feast of All Saints, to follow.


from the translation of The Roman Breviary
by John, The Marquess of Bute, 1890.

The other unique element of The Office for Halloween is The Collect, taken from The Mass, and referring to the joy of all The Saints and the “Glorious and Solemn Commemoration” of the next day. We will return to this Collect, later, but suffice it to say that we can already see, even before the Sun rises on
31 October, and really back to The Martyrology entry read at Prime on 30 October, that The Sacred Liturgy had set this day aside as something special.



The Mass.

As a Vigil, The Mass of Halloween saw the Altar and Priest Vested in Penitential Violet. It had its own dedicated set of Propers and Readings. Overall, they anticipate the joy of the subsequent Feast [Editor: All Saints], though often with a slightly different twist.

The beginning of the Halloween Introit, “Judicant sancti gentes, et dominantur populis” (The Saints judge Nations, and rule over people), strikes a more stern, Last-Judgement, tone than the purely jubilant All Saints Introit “Gaudeamus omnes in Domino” (Let us rejoice in The Lord), even though they both end on the same Psalm: “Exsultate, justi, in Domino” (Rejoice in The Lord, ye Just).




Beginning of The Mass of The Vigil,
from The New Roman Missal of Fr. Lasance (1938).



In the Halloween Gradual and Offertory, note the grammatical tense in “exsultabunt and laetabuntur”: “The Saints shall rejoice in glory, they shall be joyful in their beds”. The future tense, here, seems to pull double duty, not only helping to point forward to the next day’s Feast (Editor: All Saints], but also inviting a comparison between what the Canonised Saints enjoy now and what the Christian Faithful and the Souls in Purgatory will one day attain.

The Halloween Mass marks the dramatic appearance of The Apocalypse (Revelations) in The Liturgical Readings. Instead of a Pauline Epistle, we are suddenly confronted with Saint John’s spectacular and cryptic imagery: A Lamb with seven Horns and seven Eyes, Harps and Choirs, Angels circling the Throne. It is a startling vision—and it will continue to unfold through the rest of Hallowtide.

But only here, in The Vigil, do we see the Doctrine of Intercessory Prayer take such picturesque form as the “Golden Vials, full of odours, which are the Prayers of The Saints.” The Lesson also presents us with a first taste of universality, or Catholicity, of The Saints—Christ has “redeemed us to God, in Thy blood, out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and Nation,” a theme we will come back to at Vespers.


The Gospel of The Day, as at Matins, is drawn from Christ’s Sermon on The Plain, in Luke 6. It, therefore, nicely parallels the Gospel of All Saints’ Day, which presents The Sermon on The Mount from Matthew 5.

Both Texts give us The Beatitudes and point us toward The Path to Sainthood. But, intriguingly, Luke’s Sermon on The Plain also features an Exorcism: “And they that were troubled with unclean spirits were cured.” It is not a major theme of The Halloween Mass, to be sure, but its presence here is a well-timed reminder of our enemies in The Spiritual Battle—then, as now.

Another subtle hint can be found in The Communion Verse “Justorum animæ”, which reminds us that “the torment of malice” shall not touch The Just.



“Black Vespers”.

This strangely-named Office is really The Vespers of The Dead—“Black”, here, referring to the colour of The Vestments. These Vespers are not actually found on Halloween Day in any of The Church’s official Liturgical Books.

Their true Liturgical place is after Second Vespers of All Saints on 1 November. But I have included this Office, here, since there was a Breton Tradition of saying it on the afternoon of Vigil—apparently Devotionally (for historical references, see HERE and HERE). It may well have flourished in other places, as well, since Brittany was said to be particularly conservative in its retention of old Mediæval customs.


“Black Vespers” begins with the Antiphon “I will walk before The Lord in The Land of The Living”—and perhaps here we can see the origin of the idea that, on Halloween, The Departed Souls returned to Earth. Neo-pagans have made much of this Folk Belief, often claiming it to be a lingering vestige of the “old ways”—on slender evidence and over-optimistic assumptions of pagan survival. This Antiphon seems to offer a much more plausible source, and a better explanation, for the presence of this belief in disparate Countries.

In places where it was said, “Black Vespers” infused Halloween with the solemn spirit of All Souls’ Day—and reminded Catholics, looking toward Heaven, of their dear Departed still suffering in Purgatory. We can very much use this reminder, today, particularly as Catholic funerals have too often become deformed into pseudo-canonisations, with the Deceased rashly, and improperly, assumed to be enjoying Heaven, with no need of our Prayers.



First Vespers of All Saints.

Finally, we come to the actual appointed Vespers for 
31 October: The First Vespers of All Saints’ Day. In the dimming light of Sunset, The Church officially begins its Celebration of that great Feast, having put aside the Penitential Violet Vestments and the Mournful Black Vestments, and Vesting in the exultant glory of White and Gold Vestments.

Re-echoing The Mass Lesson, its Antiphons boldly sweep up all history and all geography into The Heavenly Ranks: “I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all Nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the Throne.”; “Thou, O, Lord God, hast redeemed us by Thy Blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and Nation, and hast made us a Kingdom unto our God.”

The Vespers of All Saints is presenting us with a cast of historical and Other-Worldly characters of every type, arrayed before us in a great colourful pageant.


The Sequence, “Placare Christi”, addresses, in each Verse,
The Angels, The Apostles, The Purpled Martyrs, The Choir of Virgins and Confessors. The Antiphon at The Magnificat barely names a class of Saints before it runs to the next class in sheer delight—“O ye Angels, ye Archangels….O ye Patriarchs and Prophets, ye Holy Teachers of The Law,—O ye Apostles,—
O all ye Martyrs of Christ, ye holy Confessors, ye Virgins of The Lord, ye Hermits,—O all ye holy children of God”.

As Vespers came to a close, the Lay Catholic of bygone ages retired with all these great themes and concepts, fresh in his mind, preparing himself for the Festivities of the next day. He would have seen Priestly Vestments change through the day from Penitential Violet, to Sombre Black, to White or Gold. 

And what, today, forms the Halloween colour palette ? Purple, Black, White and Orange—matching The Church’s Liturgy almost perfectly, save for the characteristic hue of The North American Autumn.




This is Halloween as Traditionally envisioned by The Church: A colourful pageant, where all the Nations, and even The Living, and The Dead, join together to give glory to God.

Regrettably, despite its long history and rich Tradition, The Eve of All Saints was one of The Vigils completely abolished in 1955. As a result, even Traditional Latin Mass Parishes, which generally use The 1962 Liturgical Books, do not offer The Liturgy that I have described above.

The First Vespers of All Saints still remains, of course, even in The 1970 Missal, but the abolition of The Vigil has turned the first part of The Day into simply another generic “Mass of The Season.”

The Triduum, and its subsequent Octave, are no more. Gone, too, are the Liturgical parallels between Halloween, All Saints, and All Souls, with their subtle variations and interwoven themes.



They are vestigially remembered though. Across the globe, the Liturgies of Hallowtide had long been imaginatively amplified by Folk Traditions and customs: “Souling” in The British Isles; “Pão-por-Deus”, in Portugal; “Dia de Muertos”, in Mexico; and “Pangangaluwa”, in The Philippines.

Praying for The Deceased of the family, and of neighbours, was a widespread phenomenon. In some areas, like Scotland and Ireland, children went “Guising”, or, “Masquerading”, after dark, carrying turnip lanterns, and singing, or reciting, Verses for “treats”.

But the original anchor for all of these customs was The Church’s Liturgy. Many of these customs were already seriously compromised after The Reformation—and, in England, Halloween customs had even been abolished by Law. But, when The Church, herself, pulled up the anchor, nothing could stop the various Folk Traditions in even Catholic Countries from drifting aimlessly.

What can we do ? Let us set a good example in our homes, first, restoring The Liturgical Halloween to our hearts and our hearths.



The Texts of this wonderful Vigil, from both The Mass and The Office, give us some excellent Devotions for the day. If you have a Pre-1955 Missal and Breviary, handy [Editor: Which I have, of course], the Prayers are readily available there for you to use.

Alternatively, you can access them On-Line using the Links, above. For convenience, I have also compiled them, and other Devotions, in a Small Booklet, soon to be available from Ancilla Press.

If, nothing else, we would do immense good by taking a few seconds that day, while we prepare for any Festivities, to Devoutly Pray The Collect of All Hallows Eve (Editor: As opposed to “Trick or Treating”).

“Oh, Lord, our God, multiply Thy Graces upon us, and grant that joy may follow in The Holy Praise of those whose glorious Festival we anticipate. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in The unity of The Holy Ghost, one God, World Without End.

Amen.




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