Faith and Tradition Merge: All Souls Day and Día de los Muertos Celebrations Unite Local Catholic Community

At Saint Andrew Catholic Church in Old Pasadena, two distinct traditions of honoring the deceased are converging this Friday and Saturday, Nov. 1 and 2, in a cultural and spiritual celebration.

The church is preparing to observe both All Souls Day, a thousand-year-old Catholic tradition, and Día de los Muertos, a pre-Columbian Aztec cultural celebration, demonstrating evolving community practices.

“Death is not the end. It’s simply the door that we go through to enter everlasting life,” says Father Marcos Gonzalez, Pastor of Saint Andrew Catholic Church.

The dual celebrations showcase how Pasadena’s Catholic community bridges religious observance with cultural traditions through masses, prayers and traditional “ofrendas” – altars adorned with photos and food offerings.

“The cultural celebration of the Day of the Dead is more of a cultural pre-Christian celebration, which remembers those who’ve gone before and honors the dead,” Gonzalez explains. “That’s why they have the ‘ofrendas,’ the altar of offerings in which they put things like the pictures and food and things that remind them when they were present among us.”

Within Catholic theology, these observances connect to the “mystical body of Christ,” uniting the church triumphant in heaven, church suffering in purgatory, and church militant on Earth.

The celebration spans two distinct days, with Nov. 1 dedicated to remembering deceased children, known as Día de los Angelitos, and Nov. 2 honoring adults through All Souls Day masses.

Father Gonzalez, who lost his father nine years ago and now faces his mother’s terminal condition, finds deep meaning in these complementary traditions of remembrance.

“It is a very important thing because it allows us to realize I’m sad and I am in grief because the one who was physically with me, who we loved and was part of our family, is no longer physically with us anymore,” Gonzalez reflects.

Yet these traditions emphasize gratitude amid loss: “We are grateful for life. We are grateful for the legacy they left. We are grateful for all that they’ve done for us,” he says.

The combined celebrations demonstrate how modern American communities can maintain distinct cultural practices while embracing their faith traditions in meaningful ways that serve both spiritual and cultural needs.