Is All Saints Day a holy day of obligation?

[suppliant]

I’m confused. I arrived at church last Wednesday expecting a Mass for the holy day of obligation. Nothing. I asked a lady who was in the twenty-four-hour adoration room and she looked at me like I had two heads. The Masses were held the next day on November 2 (All Souls Day). This is a new church for me and maybe I’m wrong but I thought November 1 was the holy day of obligation.

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

Assuming you are in the United States (with the exception of Hawaii, to which this does not apply), yes, All Saints Day is a holy day of obligation (source); and, yes, Mass should be held on that day. Rather than rely on the information of a parishioner though, I recommend calling the parish office and asking what its schedule of Masses was for All Saints Day. There may have been some miscommunication. Perhaps you arrived at the church after the last Mass held that day and your informant meant to tell you that there would not be another Mass until the next day, November 2.

Only if the parish confirms that it did not hold any Mass at all on November 1 would there be a reason to be concerned. In that case, call the diocese and confirm that, one, All Saints Day is a holy day of obligation in your diocese (which it should be if you are in the continental U.S. or Alaska); and, two, that the parish you attend is a Catholic parish recognized as such by the diocese (which it may not be if it is a U.S. church that did not celebrate an All Saints Day Mass).

There is also the possibility that this parish might be an Eastern Catholic church. If so, Eastern Catholic churches in union with Rome have different liturgical calendars than are followed by Latin-rite Catholic parishes. Your diocese can also tell you whether or not this parish is an Eastern Catholic church.