‘All Souls Day’ to be One of Remembrance for Belmont Abbey College Students — Abbey Scheduled to Celebrate Catholic Holiday

BELMONT, NC —- Students at Belmont Abbey College plan to celebrate the Catholic holiday, All Souls Day, in a special way this year. Students will take time to commemorate loved ones who have passed by collecting their names this week for a Board of Remembrance that will be shared with the entire Abbey community.

Belmont Abbey College will hold a special mass on All Souls Day, Wednesday, November 2, 2005 at 5:00 PM in the Abbey Basilica, Belmont Abbey College. The event is open to the public. (Classes are cancelled and the College will be closed Tuesday, November 1, 2005 in celebration of All Saints Day.)

“Our goal in doing this is to help our students have a better understanding of bereavement,” says Sister Carolyn Coll, a counselor at Belmont Abbey College. “A lot of people think that when someone passes, you should just get over it. However, we want students to understand it’s not about forgetting – this is a time to remember the ones we love and incorporate the values and things they have taught us to help us enrich our own lives.”

Coll says All Souls Day is also an important time to recognize the individuals in our lives who are on the journey and those who have already reached heaven.

“Our faith and tradition here gives us a chance to remember and value those who have touched our lives and give them thanks,” says Coll.

All Souls Day is the day set apart in the Roman Catholic Church for the commemoration of the faithful departed. The celebration is based on the doctrine that the souls of the faithful which at death have not been cleansed from venial sins, or have not atoned for past transgressions, cannot attain the beatific vision, and that they may be helped to do so by prayer and by the sacrifice of the mass.

The feast traditionally falls on November 2nd, unless the date falls on a Sunday, in which case the holiday would be celebrated on November 3rd.

For more information on Belmont Abbey College’s All Souls Day Mass, you can contact Sister Carolyn Coll at 704.829.7079 or Sr.CarolynColl@bac.edu.

Ranked one of the best comprehensive colleges in the Southeast by U.S. News and World Report and The Princeton Review, Belmont Abbey College celebrates excellence and virtue steeped in its 129-year Catholic Benedictine heritage. The liberal arts College is home to students from over 28 states and 11 countries and welcomes everyone from any background or tradition committed to this vision of excellence and virtue. The campus consists of the College, the Monastery and the Abbey Basilica, which can be found on its sprawling 650 acres of picturesque landscape.

Just minutes from Charlotte, NC, the nation’s second largest banking center, Belmont Abbey College offers students numerous internship opportunities and career placement.

The College believes in development of the whole person – mind, body and spirit. By offering a wide array of clubs and activities including Division II athletics, theatre, publications, and study abroad, Belmont Abbey College invests in the personal growth of its students.

Founded in 1876, the College celebrates its heritage and is inspired by the Benedictine monastic tradition. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the College and Abbey Basilica greet thousands of visitors each year.

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