Should a priest invite congregants to come to Mass in Halloween costumes?

[Catholic_Knight]

I am a college student and the priest at my Newman Center has asked the congregation to come to Mass dressed in their Halloween costumes. This sounds rather odd to me. I was under the impression that Halloween was pagan. Is my priest allowed to do this? Can Catholics wear Halloween costumes to Mass? If not, is there anything I can do about it?

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

Halloween is not pagan. It is a Christian holiday that was, until only a few decades ago, celebrated by the Church as the vigil to All Saints (November 1) and All Souls (November 2). The word Halloween is a contraction of the words All Hallows Even (i.e. “all saints evening”).

That said, unless there was some practical reason for doing so, your priest should not have invited people to come to Mass dressed in their Halloween costumes. If the Mass was an “opening” or “closing” event to the campus’s Halloween festival, it might make sense to give permission for congregants to come in costume in order to encourage them to come to Mass either before or after a campus festival they were already attending. (This would especially be helpful since the Halloween evening Mass would satisfy the holy day obligation to attend Mass the following day on November 1.)

But to give the impression that the Mass is a party to which everyone can come costumed according to “theme” is very unfortunate since such an impression gives a problematic understanding of what the Mass truly is. The Mass is not a party, but the re-presentation in time and space of Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary. As such, it is a solemn event and should be treated like one.

Recommended reading:

Can Catholics celebrate Halloween?
Is Catholicism Pagan?
Catholics and the Cult of Fun by Mark P. Shea