HALLOWEEN AND FAITH: LET’S TALK WITHOUT FEAR!

Your friend has already chosen the film. Your child wants to dress up as a vampire. You, honestly, were mostly looking for an excuse to bake a chocolate cake. Then you open social media and discover that Halloween has become a test again: some defend it at all costs, while others seem to want you to justify even the pumpkin on your balcony.

Can we take a breath? People’s questions about faith deserve a clear answer: a party with costumes and treats can be compatible with Catholic faith. What makes the difference is the activities involved and the meaning we give them.

What does the Catechism actually say?

To understand the Catholic position, we need to start with the first commandment: the trust and worship that believers direct towards God.

The Catechism addresses three specific issues.

Superstition. Paragraph 2111 warns against attributing magical effectiveness to gestures or objects. This can happen even with a prayer, when we treat it as a formula that should work automatically, forgetting faith and the disposition of the heart.

Divination. Paragraph 2116 rejects consulting mediums, summoning the dead and practices that claim to reveal the future. The reason concerns the desire to control what lies ahead through supposed hidden powers. The preceding paragraph, 2115, identifies the Christian attitude as trust in God’s providence.

Magic and sorcery. Paragraph 2117 condemns practices that claim to place occult powers at one’s service or obtain supernatural power over others. It specifies that even an apparently good purpose, such as restoring health, does not make them acceptable.

What does this have to do with Halloween?

These paragraphs do not pass judgement on a celebration called Halloween: they explain which practices Catholicism rejects and why.

The Catechism also offers another criterion for evaluating an activity: consider what we choose to do, with what intention and in what circumstances. These are the three elements identified in paragraph 1750.

All three matter. Saying ‘I only want to have fun’ does not make every activity good: paragraph 1753 makes clear that a good intention does not justify wrongful behaviour.

Applying these principles to an evening therefore means knowing the programme and evaluating the actual activities. This reasoning follows from the Catechism’s teaching; it is not a specific statement by the Catechism about costumes, pumpkins or Halloween.

Surprise: Halloween and All Saints’ Day are connected

The name Halloween comes from All Hallows’ Eve: the eve of All Saints’ Day. The name itself provides a thread connecting 31 October to All Saints’ Day on 1 November and All Souls’ Day on 2 November.

That does not mean every modern custom began in church. Popular traditions, religious observances and commercial habits have become intertwined over time. Even some accounts of the origins are debated: in a 2024 study, historian Ronald Hutton critically reassessed the evidence behind descriptions of Samhain as an ancient Celtic New Year and major festival of the dead.

History has more shades than posts promising to explain everything in three lines. Learning about it can be far more interesting than using it to win an argument.

When did Halloween arrive in Italy?

‘When we were little, we didn’t celebrate it.’ If that sounds familiar, there is a reason: the Halloween we know today became widespread relatively recently. It began gaining ground in Italy in the 1990s and became established in the 2000s. There is no single day when the whole country started celebrating: it was a gradual change, experienced differently across places and generations.

First, we got to know it through our screens. Films and television made glowing pumpkins, children in costume and knocking on doors for sweets familiar sights. American culture carried these images far beyond its borders. English lessons also helped introduce the celebration, alongside the language and customs of English-speaking countries.

Then those images began turning into real events. One concrete story comes from Tuscany: Halloween Celebration began in Borgo a Mozzano in 1994. The organisers recount how Patrizio De Servi, returning from New York, suggested to Stefano Nannizzi that they bring a Halloween celebration to the Lucca area. An example of how an experience abroad can become a local event.

Commerce amplified the phenomenon. Costumes, decorations and treats made the celebration increasingly visible and easy to organise. But its success also meets a simple desire: an opportunity to dress up, invent something and spend time together. This is one interpretation offered by education scholars at the University of Milano-Bicocca who have examined its spread.

That helps explain why, within the same family, one person might say ‘As a child, I didn’t even know what it was’ while another looks forward to 31 October for weeks.

Italian traditions connected with the saints and the departed have histories of their own. November gifts in Sicily and children’s door-to-door collections in Sardinia help us discover them: similarities to trick-or-treating are interesting, but do not make them the same celebration.

From here, we can approach these days with greater curiosity: understanding what came from elsewhere and rediscovering what we risked forgetting within our own families.

Catholics have different pastoral perspectives, too

In 2018, Tulsa’s bishop David Konderla called for recovering the meaning of All Hallows’ Eve, without celebrating superstition or occultism. In 2019, Don Aldo Buonaiuto publicly criticised consumerism and fascination with the macabre. Among believers, the conversation has different voices.

These contributions have different content and roles: a diocesan document and a priest’s opinion do not automatically become a universal rule. They do help explain why people who share a faith may make different choices.

Some love dressing up, while others have little interest in Halloween. Some host a dinner; others prefer to spend the eve in prayer. We can talk about it, and disagree, while giving each other room to explain our choices.

A celebration can simply be a lovely evening together

A costume found in the wardrobe, a playlist everyone helps choose, slightly wonky biscuits. For many people, this is already the best part of preparing: making a date, inventing something and getting together.

With children, we can start from what they enjoy. Some like funny monsters; others prefer a cartoon character. If a mask frightens someone, change the game. If a child does not want to join in, listen. A celebration works when there is room for other people’s tastes and boundaries.

The same goes for adults. An invitation can be relaxed, without pressure to buy the perfect costume or attend at all costs. Sometimes all it takes is: ‘Come as you are, we’ll bring something and spend time together.’ Choosing the sofa deserves a little protection, too.

2026 archive: local events on 31 October and 1 November

The events of 31 October and 1 November 2026 have ended. This page keeps that edition’s programme; follow your community’s calendar for future gatherings.

In Milan, young detectives were invited. The 31 October programme at the Archaeological Museum announced Delitto al Museo, an animated visit for children aged 6–11. The date has passed; the information remains here as an archive of the published event.

In Rome, children were invited to create. Explora announced Pipistrello dispettoso and Lanterna spettrale for 31 October and 1 November. Those dates have passed, and the listing is now archived without claims about attendance or outcomes.

Fancy an evening with adults, a castle or a day trip? We have gathered more suggestions in our guides, organised by province:

👉 Halloween in Lombardy: parties, castles and spooky nights

👉 Halloween in Lazio: from Rome to the villages, find your evening out

Before booking, check availability, recommended ages and the latest programme. Especially with children, choose with their enjoyment in mind: wanting to try something and being allowed to say ‘That scares me too much’ can belong in the same family.

2026 archive: the Festival of Light on All Hallows’ Eve

In 2026, several communities announced festivals of light and vigils dedicated to the saints for All Hallows’ Eve. The listed dates have passed; the published programmes remain here as an archive, not as reports of what happened.

Faith is at the centre: gathering to pray, discover the saints’ stories, attend Mass or take part in adoration. Some events also include games and shared meals, because a community meets before the altar and continues getting to know one another outside the church.

In Trento, the night begins in the cathedral. From 8.30 pm on 31 October, the Cathedral of San Vigilio hosts Notte di Ognissanti, Notte della Luce, with a vigil open to everyone and Eucharistic adoration expected to continue until around 11 pm. Its theme is Jesus’ invitation: ‘You are the light of the world.’ A light to carry into everyday life, into our encounters and the choices we make.

In Salerno, prayer crosses the city. At 9 pm on 31 October, the Luce del mondo Eucharistic procession, led by Archbishop Andrea Bellandi, leaves San Pietro in Vinculis church in Piazza Sedile di Porta Nova and reaches Piazza della Libertà, where adoration follows.

In Amendolara Marina, Calabria, even the youngest join the walk. The Madonna della Salute parish invites people to meet at 5.30 pm on 31 October in Piazza Venezia. The Festival of Light includes a procession towards the church, followed by games and time together at the Pope John Paul II parish centre. Children, families and the community are invited to rediscover the lives and example of the saints.

If you are looking for something nearby, check your parish notices or diocesan calendar: you may find a vigil to attend with a friend, an activity for children or an open church where you can pause to pray.

This, too, can become an invitation sent from your phone: ‘Would you like to come with me?’

Then comes November, with everyone we hold dear

All Saints’ Day and remembrance of the departed bring questions and feelings that deserve space. For believers, the saints’ feast speaks of lives in which faith became tangible love. On 2 November, we bring the names of those we miss into prayer.

Memories can return through a recipe, a photograph or an expression. Perhaps you are baking and remember your grandmother adjusting quantities by eye. Or you want to phone someone and, for an instant, forget that you can no longer make that call.

We can make room for this gently, too. At the Angelus on 1 November 2019, Francis recalled our bond with loved ones who have died and encouraged visits and prayer at the cemetery. In that text he did not name Halloween or issue a general ban on celebrating it.

Laughter with friends, a church celebration and a memory can all find a place in these days. Everyone carries a different story. Listening is already a lovely way to meet, perhaps over the last slice of cake.

A moment to pause: the All Saints’ Day video

In the Angelus of 1 November 2019, Francis speaks about everyday holiness and our bond with loved ones. The archive video offers a few minutes to pause with the meaning of these days.

Before bags of sweets, there were ‘soul cakes’

Another part of this story deserves a taste. In England, around All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, poorer people went souling: they knocked on doors asking for charity. They received small soul cakes and, in return, prayed for the departed relatives of those who gave them.

Soul cakes appear in written records around 1400, when the custom was already described as old. Later, groups of children took part in these visits, too. The resemblance to trick-or-treating is intriguing, but it does not prove a single, direct line of descent: modern customs have drawn on different influences.

In Sicily, gifts arrive in November, too

Then there is Sicily, where remembrance of the departed also takes on the colours of the pastry shop. During the night between 1 and 2 November, adults hide gifts for children around the house. In the traditional family story, departed loved ones bring them: in the morning, a little treasure hunt begins.

The cannistru, the celebration’s basket, holds nuts and dried fruit, sweets and sugar figurines. And, of course, frutta Martorana: tiny fruits and vegetables shaped from almond paste, made so carefully that you want to admire them a moment longer before eating them.

Their history is linked to Palermo’s Martorana monastery. A legend says the nuns hung almond-paste fruits on trees to welcome an important visitor. The versions differ, and it remains a legend. Still, imagining that garden brings a smile: a tree full of sweets could win over even the most solemn guest.

In Sardinia, children knock for the ‘animeddas’

In Sardinia, people knock on doors for is animeddas, the little souls. Depending on the village, the custom is also called su mortu mortu or has other local names. Children go from house to house asking for gifts for the souls. In Campidano, past offerings included sapa bread, oranges, pomegranates and almonds; today there are also biscuits, sweets and chocolates.

These traditions have histories of their own; calling them simply ‘Italian Halloween’ would diminish them. They do broaden our perspective: sweets, children, doors to knock on and remembrance of the dead also belong to Italy’s cultural heritage. Perhaps the most interesting question to bring to the table is: ‘What did you do when you were little?’ You might discover a story nobody has told you yet.

Keep reading: All Saints’ Day — heaven is full of stories!