The triduum of All Hallows Eve, All Saints Day and All Souls Day is a big deal in our home, as it is in the Church. We love to celebrate Hallowmass with special treats, books, pumpkins, movies and helping our children to dress up as their favorite Saints.
We also look forward to attending Holy Mass on All Saints Day and visiting cemeteries and praying for the holy souls in Purgatory. Don’t forget! We can gain a plenary indulgence each day from November 1 to November 8 for the souls in purgatory (if all conditions are met) by praying in a cemetery for the departed, either spoken or mental prayer.
The Triduum is a very busy time for us and this year we have even more reason to celebrate, including two of the newest saints that Holy Mother Church recently canonized: Saints Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassiti!
As we were watching Pope Leo XIV canonize these two saints, I admit that I thought how wonderful it would be for our children one-day to dress up like them for All Hallows Eve and All Saints Day. I am sure that there are going to be many Catholic children that are going to be eager to dress up as either Saint Carlo Acutis or Saint Pier Giorgio Frassiti. As always, our children are very excited about dressing up as their favorite saints. Here are some contenders:
St. Carlo Acutis
What you’ll need:
Red polo shirt
Khakis
Sneakers
Backpack
Extras: Sunglasses, Pokémon accessories, image of a Monstrance, portable video game.
St. Pier Giorgio Frassati
What you’ll need:
Button up shirt
Brown cargo pants
Brown hiking boots or brown sneakers
Walking stick
Fake pipe
Saint Isidore the Farmer
What you’ll need:
Long brown t-shirt
Belt
Leather or faux leather bag
Kids rake
Black or brown boots or rain boots
St. Maria Goretti
What you’ll need:
Long dress
Long shawl to go over dress
Lilies real or fake
More greenery real or fake
St. Kateri Tekakwitha
What you’ll need:
Brown dress preferably with fringe
Brown skirt
Headband with feathers
Beaded necklace with feathers.
Lilies real or fake
Wooden stick cross
These are just some of the many options of favorite saints to dress up as. Just as it is fun for our children to dress up as them, it is also important for them to learn about their virtues and history. For example, our church recently purchased a statue of Saint Isidore the Farmer for the church’s garden club that is responsible for keeping the church grounds beautiful and manicured. As I only previously heard of the saint in passing, I made it a point to research this saint and share his history with our children. I also wondered if St. Isidore would put in a good word to the angels to help me in my housework, as they were said to have helped him in the fields.
It is fun to not only learn about the many saints as an adult, but as parents, it is a treasure to share knowledge with our children and to get them excited about being a part of such an immense Catholic family. While we were watching the Mass at the Vatican and canonization last month, I remember saying as we watched the immense crowd that was gathered to witness the historic moment and listened to them chant the Litany of the Saints during the canonization, “what a tremendous blessing it is to be Catholic!” My husband and children agreed and it was a memory that we will all treasure for the rest of our lives.
I pray that learning about the saints and dressing like them continues to inspire our children to want to join the ranks of these great saints in heaven. As Saint Carlo Acutis said, “Our goal must be infinite, not the finite. The infinite is our homeland. Heaven has been waiting for us forever.”
Therefore, dressing up as our favorite saints is one way to get ready for the infinite. By emulating our favorite saints, we can inspire ourselves to also take on their qualities and realize that they had to overcome hardships, flaws, obstacles, evils and other problems that we encounter as well.
While many of the costumes can be purchased, we find that it is much more fun to create them ourselves and come up with unique and creative ways to find pieces and objects that we have at home which can be repurposed for the costumes.
From our family to yours, we wish you a blessed Hallowtide!
Christina Frye is a lifelong Rhode Islander, wife, mother and founder of Catholic Mom Rhode Island, www.CatholicMomRI.com.
