All Saints’ Day is November 1, a day celebrating all the holy men and women in Heaven–those known and unknown by the Church. It is also a holy day of obligation.
The feast day started in 609 with Pope Boniface IV instituting it when the Roman temple of the Pantheon in Rome became a church –The Basilica di Santa Maria ad Martyres (the Basilica of St. Mary and the Martyrs). The feast used to be in May, but was later moved to the day we celebrate it now, Nov. 1 by by Pope Gregory IV. We also celebrate the next day, Nov. 2 as All Soul’s Day that honors all of the faithful departed.
The Monument that Caused a Feast Day
The Pantheon still stands today in Rome with a ceiling that can be thrown open to the sky with its giant oculus. It is the best preserved classical building in the Eternal City. It also boasts the largest unsupported concrete dome ever built. Michelangelo was so inspired by The Pantheon that he modeled the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica after it.
The Pantheon has represented the glory of Rome for more than two thousand years. The building was built for the Roman gods. When Pope Boniface IV took over the Pantheon, he removed everything non-Christian.
He also had the remains of many martyrs removed from the Christian catacombs and placed in the Pantheon. It is said that 28 carts of sacred bones were transported from the Catacombs of Rome to reside in the porphyry basin under the high altar.
