My understanding of All Saints' Day

Images of St. Joseph from the Roman Catholic Penang Diocesan Museum, Farquhar Street, Penang.

Can you name five saints, even if you are not Catholic? For many, the one familiar name may be St Anne, the mother of Mary and grandmother of Jesus, whose story has travelled across centuries and continents. In Bukit Mertajam, her presence is felt at the Minor Basilica of St Anne, where faith, history and human longing converge. Beside her stands Mary, her daughter, whose own story has shaped the spiritual lives of millions. Mother and daughter, their lives separated from ours by two millennia, remain intimately present in the hearts of those who seek their intercession, draw strength from their stories or simply find comfort in the enduring power of belief.

Statues of St. Anne with child Mary at the Minor Basilica of St. Anne in Bukit Mertajam, Penang.

If you are familiar with the story of Jesus, you may also recall the twelve apostles who followed him: Peter, Andrew, James son of Alphaeus, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Zebedee, Simon, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot. The last is remembered for his betrayal of Jesus, while the others are venerated as saints in Christian tradition.

Walk into churches across the world, particularly in Italy, and you may encounter statues of these apostles, their faces and gestures captured in stone, wood or marble. Each represents a life shaped by faith, conviction and, in many cases, sacrifice. Yet their influence extends far beyond church walls. If you have friends named Peter, Andrew, John or Thomas, their names may carry echoes of these ancient figures. Names that originated in sacred narratives have travelled through centuries, crossed borders and passed from one generation to the next. We may not know the stories behind them, but we continue to speak these names, often without realising that we are keeping a little piece of history alive.

Left: The statue of St. Joseph at the Minor Basilica of St. Anne in Bukit Mertajam, Penang.
Right: A stained glass panel of St. Joseph at Church of the Immaculate Conception in Pulau Tikus, Penang.

Before exploring the origins and traditions of All Saints’ Day, it is worth pausing to consider a fundamental question: what does it mean to be a saint? The Oxford Dictionary defines a saint as “a person that the Christian Church recognises as being very holy, because of the way they have lived or died.” The word derives from the Latin "sanctus", meaning “holy”.

Beautiful stained glass panels of St. Francis Xavier (left) and St. Aloysius Gonzaga (right) adorn the Church of the Holy Name of Jesus in Balik Pulau, Penang. Made in Bruges (Belgium), these panels were installed during the extension works of the church completed in 1894.

A gilded statue of St. Jean-Baptiste de La Salle proudly stands in front of St. Xavier's Institution at Farquhar Street, Penang. He is patron saint for teachers of youth. I am proud to have been schooled here.

The process by which the Catholic Church canonises a person as a saint is a careful and structured one, carried out in five stages:

1. Waiting Period: Usually, a period of five years is observed after the person’s death before the process can begin. However, the Pope may waive this waiting period if there is sufficient reason to do so.

2. "Servant of God": An open investigation is initiated to gather evidence about the person’s life and deeds, which includes witness testimonies. Once the case is accepted, the candidate is referred to as a "Servant of God".

3. Heroic Virtue: The candidate’s life is examined for evidence of "heroic virtue". The Congregation for the Causes of Saints reviews the collected evidence, and ultimately, it is the Pope who decides whether the person has demonstrated such virtue. If they have, the candidate is designated as "venerable".

4. Verified Miracle: A verified miracle, attributed to prayers made to the candidate after their death, must be established. This miracle often involves a sudden cure that lacks a logical medical explanation. Upon verification, the candidate is granted the title "blessed".

5. Canonisation: The final step involves the declaration of the deceased person as a saint. To reach this stage, a second miracle must be verified; however, martyrs only require one verified miracle for canonisation.

On 24 April 2021, Pope Francis declared Margaret of Città di Castello (1287–1320) a saint through equipollent canonisation, formally recognising a woman whose life of extraordinary faith and compassion had inspired devotion for more than seven centuries.

Margaret born blind and with physical disabilities, was regarded by her wealthy parents as a source of shame. Rather than embrace their daughter, they concealed her in a small cell adjoining the castle chapel, where the family chaplain became her only companion and teacher. Deprived of the world beyond her confinement, Margaret turned to prayer, nurturing a faith that would sustain her through the cruelties that lay ahead.

Years later, her parents took her to Città di Castello, hoping that a visit to a Franciscan shrine might restore her sight. When no miracle came, they abandoned her and returned home without her. The child they had hidden from the world was now left to face it alone. Destitute and without protection, Margaret eventually found shelter among the nuns of Santa Margherita. But her intense spirituality and austere devotion unsettled the community, and she was asked to leave.

Her fortunes changed when a devout couple, Venturino and Grigia, welcomed her into their home and treated her as their own daughter. At last, Margaret found what her own parents had denied her: acceptance, affection and a place to belong. She responded with service, devoting herself to teaching children and caring for the poor, the sick and those who suffered.

When Margaret died on 13 April 1320, aged just 33, the people of Città di Castello mourned her deeply. Centuries later, her canonisation affirmed a legacy that had long survived her death. Her life invites us to reconsider what it means to be blessed. Perhaps her most enduring miracle was the triumph of compassion over cruelty, and of a generous spirit over a world that had so often turned its back on her.

After her death, numerous miracles were attributed to Margaret, further deepening the devotion surrounding her. On 9 June 1558, when the bishop authorised the transfer of her body, those present were astonished to discover that it had been remarkably preserved. The discovery strengthened the reverence in which she was held. On 19 October 1609, the Church formally recognised her sanctity by proclaiming her Blessed and designating 13 April as her feast day, an annual occasion to remember her life and the virtues she embodied.

Today, dressed in the habit of the Dominican Order, St Margaret rests in a glass coffin beneath the high altar of the Church of San Domenico in Città di Castello, Italy. Although her body has darkened with time and her skin has become dry and hardened, it remains remarkably well preserved.

St. Patrick is undoubtedly one of Ireland’s most celebrated saints, honoured around the world each year on 17 March. In 2020, Penang marked the occasion with its 20th St. Patrick’s Ball and a lively street parade. Though not a religious observance, the event was a joyful celebration of Irish culture and heritage, coinciding with Ireland’s national day.

The story of St. Margaret is just one among the countless saints canonised throughout history. Another notable figure is St. Ulrich of Augsburg, who was born around 890 in Alemannia and died on 4 July 973 in his native city. He holds the distinction of being the first person officially canonised by a pope, when Pope John XV declared him a saint in 993.

It was not until 1588, nearly six centuries later, that the canonisation process became centralised. This reform was introduced by Pope Sixtus V, who established the Congregation of Rites through the papal bull Immensa Aeterni Dei. The body oversaw both liturgical matters and canonisations, ensuring that each candidate’s life and virtues were examined with rigorous care. In 1969, Pope Paul VI restructured it, forming the modern Congregation for the Causes of Saints. According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, the Roman Catholic Church now recognises more than 10,000 saints.

The Forerunners of Christ with Saints and Martyrs, probably painted by Fra Angelico. He was one of the principal painters of the Early Renaissance in Florence.

Having explored the meaning of sainthood and the process by which the Church recognises its saints, we now turn to All Saints’ Day, a solemn feast observed by Roman Catholics around the world on 1 November. A holy day of obligation in the Catholic Church, it honours all saints, both known and unknown, including those whose lives of faith and virtue may never have received formal recognition.

According to Merriam-Webster, the term “All Saints’ Day” did not appear until the 16th century. Before that, it was known by its Old English name, All Hallows’ Day or simply All Hallows. The word hallow comes from the Old English adjective hālig, meaning “holy". Embedded in this seemingly archaic word is the very essence of the feast: the remembrance of those whose lives were devoted to faith, virtue and the pursuit of holiness.

The evening before All Hallows’ was originally called All Hallows’ Even, which by the 16th century had been shortened to Hallowe’en. Over time, the apostrophe faded, and by the 18th century the term had evolved into the Halloween we recognise today. In modern times, the celebration has taken on a life of its own, embraced in many forms, particularly in the United States, and adopted around the world, including here in Penang. While today’s festivities often centre on costumes and playful spookiness, the original purpose of honouring the saints remains deeply meaningful.

Another explanation for Halloween’s origins leads us to Samhain (pronounced “Sow-in”), an ancient Celtic festival marking the end of the harvest and the transition into winter. Celebrated by Celtic communities in parts of Europe, Samhain was associated with the belief that, at this turning point in the year, the boundary between the living and the spirit world grew thin, allowing spirits to cross into the mortal realm. Such beliefs offer one possible explanation for Halloween’s enduring fascination with ghosts, spirits and other supernatural figures, as well as the custom of dressing in eerie disguises. The precise relationship between Samhain and modern Halloween, however, remains a subject of historical debate

While the roots of Halloween, or more precisely, Samhain, can be traced with relative clarity, the origins of All Saints’ Day are somewhat less certain. According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, the feast was first celebrated on 13 May, when Pope Boniface IV consecrated the Pantheon in Rome in 609 AD (some sources say 610 AD), dedicating it to the Blessed Virgin Mary and all martyrs. This act effectively established a day of universal remembrance for all holy men and women.

More than a century later, Pope Gregory III (731–741 AD) moved the observance to 1 November when he dedicated a chapel in St. Peter’s Basilica in honour of all saints. Initially, it remained a local Roman celebration. But in 837 AD, Pope Gregory IV extended the feast to the entire Church, making All Saints’ Day a universal observance.

If you asked a child to draw a saint, the result might be a simple stick figure with a halo floating above its head. Few symbols communicate holiness so economically. The halo has become so familiar that it has even found its way into popular entertainment. In The Saint, the British television series that starred Roger Moore as the suave, crime-solving Simon Templar from 1962, a simple stick figure crowned with a halo served as the character’s distinctive calling card.

How did the halo come to hover above the head of a saint as a symbol of sanctity? Looking back through the veils of time, we find that the halo appeared long before Christianity. It can be traced to early Zoroastrian and Achaemenid art, where it symbolised divine radiance. Even earlier, in the Old Kingdom of Egypt (around 2600 BCE), the sun god Ra was depicted with a radiant disk encircling his head.

The halo’s journey across cultures is equally striking. It appears in the sacred art of ancient Greece and Rome, as well as in the spiritual traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity. Though its precise meaning varies, the radiance surrounding a sacred figure often evokes light, truth, wisdom or the presence of the divine. Its enduring appeal reminds us that across cultures and centuries, humanity has sought to give visible form to the sacred.

To me, a saint is one who seeks truth and conquers the self, a true mountain climber of faith whose heart feels every sorrow yet remains unbroken. A saint is not defined by thoughts or words but by deeds: by quietly lifting others, offering comfort, and embodying compassion. Such people should not have to wait for a halo to be painted above their heads, nor for death to bring their goodness into recognition.

Perhaps saints walk among us every day. They are the people who lift others when they stumble, lend a listening ear when the world refuses to listen, and touch lives through simple acts of kindness. You and I, too, have the capacity to embody this spirit. All Saints’ Day is not merely a day of remembrance; it is a reminder of our connectedness to the heart of humanity.

I believe that we are all, in some way, granted sainthood. So on All Saints’ Day, let us remember and give thanks, not only for the canonised saints of history, but for all who have brought light into the lives of others. Let us find inspiration in every act of goodness, in every soul, living or departed.

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Written and photographed by Adrian Cheah (otherwise credited)
© All rights reserved.
31 October 2021