Saints

This feast was originally kept in the springtime in the Eastern Church, and dedicated to 'the martyrs of the whole world' as witnessed by John Chrysostom and Ephrem of Syria. In the West, Maximus of Turin preached on the same feast on the same day, the first day of Pentecost. On 13 May 610, Pope Boniface IV gathered up around 28 wagonloads of bones of martyrs that had been plundered from the cata... Read More

Bishop. Born in Swabia, Germany in 924, Wolfgang was educated at a school located at the abbey of Reichenau. There he met Henry, a young aristocrat who went on to become Archbishop of Trier. Wolfgang taught at his cathedral school and supported his efforts to reform the clergy. After Archbishop Henry died, Wolfgang decided to become a Benedictine monk and moved to an abbey in Einsiedeln, now in Sw... Read More

Today we pray for all those who have died. Although prayers for the dead are inscribed in some of the early Roman catacombs, it wasn't until about 636 that the Church began keeping this day officially. At first only dead monks were specially commemorated. Odilo, Abbot of Cluny (d 1049) extended the commemoration for 'all the dead who have existed from the beginning of time to the end of time.' Th... Read More