Yes. All Saints Day, November 1, is on the Church’s universal list of holy days of obligation, and in the United States it is one of six holy days when Latin Catholics must go to Mass. In 2026 it falls on a Sunday, so Mass is required anyway, and dioceses list Sunday, November 1, 2026 as the Solemnity of All Saints and a holy day of obligation. Diocese of Arlington, Liturgical Year 2026 reference guide

There is one exception in the United States. When November 1 falls on a Saturday or a Monday, the obligation to attend Mass is lifted. That happens next year: November 1, 2027 is a Monday.

What canon law says

The Code of Canon Law calls Sunday “the primordial holy day of obligation” and then lists the other days that “must also be observed.” All Saints is the last name on that list, after days such as the Nativity of our Lord, the Epiphany and the Immaculate Conception. Code of Canon Law, canon 1246 §1

The same canon allows a conference of bishops, “with the prior approval of the Apostolic See,” to suppress some holy days of obligation or transfer them to a Sunday. So the rule where you live depends on your bishops’ conference. Outside the United States, check what your own conference has decided. Code of Canon Law, canon 1246 §2

On these days the faithful “are obliged to participate in the Mass.” They are also to abstain from work and affairs that hinder the worship owed to God, the joy proper to the Lord’s day, or suitable relaxation of mind and body. Code of Canon Law, canon 1247

The rule in the United States

The US bishops’ decree, approved by the Holy See in 1992 and in force since January 1, 1993, names six holy days for Latin Rite dioceses besides Sundays: Mary, Mother of God (January 1), the Ascension, the Assumption (August 15), All Saints (November 1), the Immaculate Conception (December 8) and Christmas (December 25). A later decree lets an ecclesiastical province transfer the Ascension to the Seventh Sunday of Easter. USCCB, complementary norm on canon 1246 §2

The decree adds that whenever January 1, August 15 or November 1 falls on a Saturday or a Monday, “the precept to attend Mass is abrogated.” So for November 1: on a Sunday, as in 2026, Mass is required because it is Sunday; on a Saturday or Monday, there is no obligation; on any other weekday, such as Wednesday in 2028, the obligation stands.

How to fulfill the obligation

The Catechism says the precept “is satisfied by assistance at a Mass which is celebrated anywhere in a Catholic rite either on the holy day or on the evening of the preceding day.” In 2026 that means a Mass on the evening of Saturday, October 31, or any Mass on Sunday, November 1. Catechism 2180; Code of Canon Law, canon 1248 §1

If you cannot go

The Catechism says the faithful are obliged to participate in the Eucharist on days of obligation “unless excused for a serious reason (for example, illness, the care of infants) or dispensed by their own pastor.” It also says plainly: “Those who deliberately fail in this obligation commit a grave sin.” Catechism 2181

Canon law lets a pastor, for a just cause and according to the prescripts of the diocesan bishop, grant a dispensation in individual cases or commute the obligation into other pious works. Code of Canon Law, canon 1245

If taking part in Mass becomes impossible because no priest is available or for another grave cause, the Church strongly recommends joining a liturgy of the word if one is celebrated in a parish church or other sacred place according to the diocesan bishop’s prescripts, or praying for a suitable time alone, as a family or with other families. Code of Canon Law, canon 1248 §2

The next day

November 2 is All Souls Day, which is on neither list. Our guide explains how to pray for the dead that day, and another article explains why Catholics ask the saints to pray for them. How to pray for the dead on All Souls Day

Sources and further reading