November 1, 2019

Today, November 1, as people digest the sweets collected on Halloween, many people begin another celebration: the Day of the Dead, or día de los muertos. As the name implies, the traditionally Mexican holiday honors the dead. The holiday is also celebrated in other Latin American countries and in Mexican American communities. During día de los muertos (or simply día de muertos), families gather in churches, at cemeteries, and in homes to pray for and remember deceased loved ones.

A family in Patzcuaro, Mexico, decorates the graves of deceased family members on Día de los muertos. Credit: © Henry Romero, Reuters

Día de los muertos is usually celebrated on November 1 and 2. Those days are the Roman Catholic feasts of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. The celebration combines ancient native beliefs and Catholic traditions. Many families prepare an elaborate altar, known as an ofrenda (offering), for the holiday. They set up the ofrendas in their homes and in cemeteries. The ofrendas are decorated with flowers, fruits, popular foods, sweets, and drinks. They are created to welcome back for a day the souls of departed family members and friends. Special creations such as calaveras (sugar skulls) and sweet pan de muerto (bread of the dead) are popular treats. Day of the dead food, decorations, and costumes traditionally incorporate skulls, skeletons, and other symbols of death.

The day of the dead reinforces the ancient belief that death is a part of life. It is an important tradition through which families pass on their oral histories. Recalling stories of past family members helps keep these ancestors alive for future generations.

December 9, 2015

Pope Francis yesterday marked the beginning of the Jubilee of Mercy by opening the Holy Door of Saint Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. The door usually is bricked over between Jubilees, holy years when the consequences for sinning are thought to be lessened or cancelled. The current Jubilee, which began on December 8 and will end Nov. 20, 2016, is dedicated to the themes of mercy and forgiveness. Its start coincided with the feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, as well as the 50th anniversary of the end of Vatican Council II, a council of bishops that enacted progressive reforms in the Roman Catholic Church.

The Holy Door is the northern entrance at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. It is bricked over and only opened for Jubilee years in Vatican City. Credit: © Alexander Mazurkevich, Shutterstock

Tens of thousands of people gathered in Saint Peter’s Square to mark the event, which followed a Roman Catholic Mass. Prominent attendees included Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Italian President Sergio Mattarella, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, and members of Belgium’s royal family. The event took place in an atmosphere of extra security, including a no-fly zone, in the wake of deadly terrorist attacks in Paris on Nov. 13, 2015.

Opening the Holy Doors of Rome’s cathedrals during Jubilees has been a Roman Catholic tradition for hundreds of years. Passing through the doors gives a person an indulgence, a freeing from punishment for sin. Jubilee years historically have drawn many pilgrims to Rome. In 2015, Pope Francis introduced a new practice. Cathedrals and other places of worship outside Rome were allowed to designate Holy Doors so that more Catholics could participate in the Jubilee at home. During the December 8 Mass at the Vatican, Pope Francis said of the Holy Door: “To pass through the Holy Door means to rediscover the infinite mercy of the Father who welcomes everyone and goes out personally to encounter each of them.”

Since being elected pope in 2013, Francis has fostered the idea of a church that is less judgmental and more forgiving, open, and understanding. For the Jubilee, Francis planned to send specially chosen priests throughout the world as “missionaries of mercy” to forgive even serious sins ordinarily forgivable only by the Holy See (office of the pope). Francis also authorized parish priests to absolve (declare free from sin) women who have had an abortion, though the church still considers abortion a serious sin.

Jubilees have their origin in Jewish tradition from Biblical times. The Christian tradition of Jubilees dates back to 1300. The last Roman Catholic Jubilee was held in 2000.

Additional World Book articles:

• Religion (1933) – A Back in Time article
• Religion (1934) – A Back in Time article
• Roman Catholic Church (2001) – A Back in Time article
• Roman Catholic Church (2014) – A Back in Time article