As the Solemnity of All Saints is celebrated, reflections highlight local witnesses, historical relics, and the foundational teachings of the Beatitudes.
Relics and Remembrance Across Northeast Ohio
For the Solemnity of All Saints, it was discussed how the Church venerates holy men and women, noting that during the early centuries all saints venerated by the Church were martyrs. The reflections noted that while the cathedral undergoes its major renovation, regional relics remain accessible to the faithful. For instance, St. Sebastian Parish in Akron houses the bodily remains of St. Christina—a third-century teenage martyr who remained faithful to Christ during the persecution of the Emperor Diocletian—where the faithful may continue to seek her intercession. Whenever pilgrimages have been made to Assisi, veneration has been offered to the relics of St. Francis of Assisi, St. Clare, and now St. Carlo Acutis, while prayers in Rome have taken place before the relics of St. Peter and St. Paul alongside those of many other holy men and women declared saints by the Church.
The diocese’s reflections extended beyond ancient history to honor contemporary witnesses who lived out their faith in tangible ways. Among those remembered are lay missioner Jean Donovan and Ursuline Sister Dorothy Kazel, who served at the diocesan mission in El Salvador. Engaged in the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, they and two other brave women shared Christ’s love with the impoverished and suffered brutal martyrdoms.
The Universal Call to Holiness and the Beatitudes
Mass propers for November 1, 2026, include the entrance antiphon, the Alleluia Verse (Mt 11:28), and the Gospel of Matthew (Mt 5:1–12a), where Jesus outlines the Beatitudes on the mountain, promising comfort, mercy, and the Kingdom of heaven to the poor in spirit, the meek, and the peacemakers. During the early centuries, all saints venerated by the Church were martyrs, before a pope later set November 1 as the day for commemorating all the saints. The liturgy includes the Preface of All Saints and the Collect Prayer for the Solemnity, while supplementary resources for the day show Recipes (16), Activities (13), Prayers (7), Library (6), and Blog & Podcasts (6).
The celebration encompasses every saint—those officially canonized or beatified, as well as the countless individuals presently in heaven who experience the beatific vision known exclusively to God. The diocese emphasized that the Church does not make saints; rather, God makes saints, while the Church simply recognizes and proclaims what God has done in their lives. Defined as the ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest human longings and the state of supreme, definitive happiness, This perfect life with the Most Holy Trinity—this communion of life and love with the Trinity, with the Virgin Mary, the angels and all the blessed—is called “heaven.
(CCC 1024).
Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Reflecting on this universal call to holiness, the diocese’s message invited believers to look at personal examples of quiet endurance. The piece highlighted figures such as a sister and a mother who maintained their faith while succumbing to cancer, alongside a young priestly companion, Father Curtis Delarm, who passed away from Lou Gehrig’s disease at an early age while growing spiritually closer to God as his end drew near. Through these remembrances, the community observes a day dedicated not only to history’s renowned figures, but to the everyday fidelity that shapes local spiritual life.
