Annual All Hallow's Eve Celebration Gains Popularity

10/20/2005 - 12:00 AM PST

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA ADVISORY
Catholic PRWire

October 20, 2005

CONTACT: Br. Dominic Legge, O.P., 202-529-5300 x317

Annual All Hallow's Eve Celebration Gains Popularity Friars' Vigil and Reception to Draw Over 400 Area Catholics

Over 400 young adult Catholics -- including many brothers and sisters from area religious orders -- are expected to join the Friars of the Dominican House of Studies for their 7th annual Vigil of All Saints:

Monday, October 31st
All Hallow's Eve * 7:30 p.m.
The Dominican House of Studies
487 Michigan Ave., NE
Washington, DC 20017
Reception to Follow

Held in the Gothic chapel of the Dominican House of Studies, this haunting liturgy commemorates the eve before the Christian feast of All Saints (attested to by Church Fathers as early as the Fourth century). It is a celebration of all Christian saints, known and unknown, and is the original source for what has become Hallow�een.

Led by Dominican Friars, the liturgy will include readings from the lives of the saints, a homily, ancient night prayers of the Church, Gregorian chant, and will conclude at 8:30 p.m with a candle-lit procession to the Friars' reliquary while a litany is sung. Following the vigil, the Friars will host a reception in their monastic �refectory� or dining room.

Among those expected to attend are over 40 religious brothers and sisters from the Missionaries of Charity (Blessed Mother Teresa's order), the Sisters of the Incarnate Word, Capuchins, Paulists, and Franciscans.

Fr. Reginald Whitt, President of the Dominican House of Studies, said, "Our annual All Saints Vigil draws hundreds for a good reason - we can't help but be drawn to the saints and be inspired by their lives."

The Dominican House of Studies is among the largest, healthiest, and youngest houses of male religious in the United States; it is home to about 60 Dominican friars � half of whom are in their 20s and 30s.

Heir to a tradition of preaching that dates back to the founding of the Dominican Order in 1216, the Dominican House of Studies was originally established in 1834. In 1941, the Vatican bestowed the status of �Pontifical Faculty� on the school, one of the few academic institutions in the United States having received such an honor. Today, it provides a theological education for students pursuing graduate theological degrees, including Dominican friars preparing for the priesthood, other Catholic seminarians, and lay men and women.

Further information on the All Saints Vigil and the Dominican House of Studies is available at www.DominicanStudents.org and www.dhs.edu. The Eastern U.S. Province of Dominicans also hosts websites at www.op-stjoseph.org and a vocations blog at www.vocations.blog.com.

Contact

Dominican House of Studies
http://www.dominicanstudents.org DC, US
Br. Dominic Legge, OP - Media Coordinator - All Saints Vigil, 202 529-5300 x317

Keywords

Saints Vigil

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