All Saints' Day: "It is not the feast of the dead, but the feast of all the saints," reminds Father Joseph Tendeng.

On the occasion of All Saints' Day, Father Joseph Tendeng, vicar at the parish of Our Lady of the Poor in Tilène, invites the faithful to better understand the true meaning of this major Christian feast, often surrounded by confusion. According to him, many still equate All Saints' Day with the feast of the dead, whereas the Catholic Church actually celebrates, on November 1st, the feast of all saints.

“Things need to change. People think that All Saints' Day is the feast of the dead. All Saints' Day is the feast of all the saints, the saints of God, the saints who are known and those who are not known,” explains the priest.

All Saints' Day, celebrated every year on November 1st, is a solemnity dedicated to all the saints, whether officially recognized by the Church or remaining anonymous. It is above all a celebration of joy, hope, and thanksgiving for all those who have lived their faith in the footsteps of Christ. In contrast, the commemoration of the faithful departed, commonly known as "All Souls' Day," is celebrated the following day, November 2nd.

For Father Joseph Tendeng, this distinction is essential. Holiness, he emphasizes, is not reserved for a religious elite or a few exceptional individuals. It is a vocation addressed to all believers. "Holiness belongs to everyone. We are all called to holiness. Our holiness is a participation in the holiness of God," he affirms.

The priest reminds us that the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed on November 2nd is a special time to pray for relatives, friends, and loved ones who have passed away and gone to the Father's house. However, for practical reasons, many parishes take advantage of the crowds on All Saints' Day to organize visits to cemeteries and the blessing of graves.

“Often, after All Saints’ Day mass, we go to the cemetery to bless the graves with the families and to remember those who have gone before us to the Father’s house. But normally, it is on November 2nd that the Church celebrates the commemoration of the faithful departed,” he explains.

This practice reflects the spiritual communion that unites the living and the dead. Through prayer, believers keep alive the memory of those who have gone before them and continue to express their devotion to their memory. Quoting the Senegalese writer Birago Diop, Father Tendeng reminds us that "the dead are not dead," a way of emphasizing that the bonds of the heart and of faith transcend death.

Returning to the concept of holiness, the vicar of Tilene emphasizes that a saint is not a perfect person who has never made a mistake. Saints have lived the same human realities as everyone else. They have experienced trials, weaknesses, and falls, but they have always sought to rise again and follow Christ.

"A saint is not someone who has no sin. Saints are like you and me. They are people who lived in the ordinariness of their existence, who fell but got back up," he explains.

Today, he continues, holiness is manifested concretely in everyday actions: respecting human dignity, promoting justice, rejecting corruption, practicing forgiveness in families and working for the common good in society.

Father Tendeng also cites the example of Carlo Acutis, a young Catholic who has become a role model for many young people through his commitment to evangelization using digital tools. For him, the saints remain accessible models who demonstrate that holiness is possible in every era and in every social class.

In conclusion, the priest invites the faithful to take advantage of the All Saints' Day celebration to reflect on the meaning of life and their own vocation to holiness. He also reminds them of the importance of three places that everyone should visit at least once a year: the prison to appreciate the price of freedom, the hospital to appreciate the value of health, and the cemetery to remember that all human beings share the same destiny.

Through his message, Father Joseph Tendeng calls for a full appreciation of the meaning of November 1st, All Saints' Day, while reserving November 2nd for remembrance and prayer for the faithful departed. This clarification allows us to rediscover the profound meaning of two celebrations often associated, yet quite distinct within the Christian tradition.

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