All Saints day is a holy day of obligation in the Catholic Church. The feast is held on November 1 each year commemorating all Christian saints, known and unknown. It was first celebrated by Pope Boniface IV in 608. The term saint stems from the Latin, "Sancti" which means "holy ones."
What the church looks for in venerating a saint is not a faultless or sinless life, but a passionate and single-minded dedication to prayer and good works that makes this person an exemplary model of heroic virtue in some respect.
The reason for the invocation of saints to ask their intercession is the doctrine of the communion of saints, that is, the belief that there is a communication with the dead by prayer and that those who have gone before can also pray efficaciously for the living (The Modern Catholic Encyclopedia).
Mass will be held at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in honor of All Saints day on Thursday, October 31st (Vigil) at 5:10pm and on Friday, November 1st at 7:15am, 12pm and 5:10pm.
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