October is dedicated to the Holy Rosary! This month, we have rounded up our favorite posts on October feast days and the October dedication to the Holy Rosary. We also have free catechist resources and tips.
Read on for some favorite articles from the Amazing Catechists archives as well as some fun posts from around the web!
October is the Month of the Holy Rosary
October is dedicated to the Holy Rosary. Here are some past post honoring Our Blessed Mother and the Rosary.
Hail Mary and the Holy Souls
In this post, Lisa Mladinich gives tons of beautiful ideas for praying the rosary with children. She also includes excellent information on Hallowtide, praying for the Holy Souls, and other October feast days.
The Rosary in Kid Speak
Enjoy this interview Lisa Mladinich did with dynamic author, speaker, and educator, TJ Burdick, about his exciting resource, The Rosary in Kid Speak. What a beautiful resource for praying the rosary with small children!
Tips for Praying the Rosary with Kids and Free Printable Prayers
This post has lots of tips and resources for praying the rosary with kids. Try a rosary craft, hymn, and download the free printable prayers to make a DIY rosary book with your kids or students.
Saint Ignatius of Loyola’s Vision of Christ and God the Father at La Storta by Domenichino[16]
Using Saint Ignatius’ Guidelines For Family Rosary
Theresa Linden writes, “We all want to develop our family prayer time. But sometimes little ones fidget or bicker, older children seem to wish they were anywhere else, and Mom and Dad struggle to remain focused on the prayers. Wouldn’t it be nice to have some guidelines for family Rosary? Still, I’m convinced that God blesses everyone every time we gather to pray. And God blesses the family. So whenever the family sits down to pray together it’s a good thing.”
The Power of the Rosary
Gabriel Castillo’s book, The Power of the Rosary, goes deep into the history of the Rosary, and provides many practical tools and inspiration for making my time praying the Rosary even more powerful and efficacious. Read the full review here.
October Feast Days and Catholic Saint Feast Days in October
There are many beautiful Catholic feast days in October:
- St. Therese of Lisieux (October 1)
- the Holy Guardian Angels (October 2)
- St. Francis of Assisi (October 4)
- Our Lady of the Rosary (October 7)
- Bl. Carlo Acutis (October 12)
- St. Theresa of Avila (October 15)
- St. Gerard (October 16)
- St. Margaret Mary Alocoque (October 16)
- St. Luke the Evangelist (October 18)
- Sts. Simon and Jude (October 28)
St. Therese of Lisieux Feast Day, October 1
Ask This Saint for Help and Gather Roses All Your Life
Learn about this amazing saint for her feast day on October 1st. Pray her novena and be sure watch out for roses!
The Feast of the Guardian Angels, October 2
The Archangel Raphael and Tobias by Titian
Angels All Around Us
Look around you. How many others are in the room with you? I propose that the actual number is more than double.
We all believe in things we can’t see: air, wind, electricity, gravity. But invisible spiritual realities surround us too. We each have a guardian angel. Take the number of people with you now and double it for a good guess as to how many beings are with you at this moment.
St. Francis of Assisi, October 4
Italy’s Shrines and Wonders Volume II: Discovering Sacred Spaces and Fascinating Places in the Life of St. Francis of Assisi
It’s the year of St. Francis! 2026 marks 800 years since this remarkable saint’s death. The Catholic Church is celebrating with a special jubilee year and plenary indulgences available for the faithful. You can read all about it in this document.
While it is possible for me to make a local pilgrimage to obtain an indulgence, I won’t be able to make a pilgrimage to the saint’s home in Italy this year. Thankfully, Teresa Tomeo has written a book that makes me able to imagine and learn about going on pilgrimage to all of the incredible places where St. Francis prayed, preached, evangelized, and lived. I could *almost* taste the pasta and smell the fresh air of the Spoleto countryside while I read Italy’s Shrines and Wonders Volume II: Discovering Sacred Spaces and Fascinating places in the life of St. Francis of Assisi.
St. Francis
Pope Leo has declared 2026 the year of St. Francis! 2026 marks 800 years since this remarkable saint’s death. The Catholic Church is celebrating with a special jubilee year and plenary indulgences available for the faithful. You can read all about it in this document. Brian Wildsmith’s new book, St. Francis, is the perfect picture book to share the life of St. Francis with children.
Our Lady of the Rosary Feast Day, October 7
How to Celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary
The Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary is on October 7th. Read this recent post I wrote on celebrating one of my favorite feast days! The history of the feast is absolutely remarkable, and I have ideas and resources for teaching about this feast in your homeschool or classroom.
Our Lady of Fatima Miracle of the Sun, October 13
Fatima: The Apparition That Changed the World [Interview]
The anniversary of the Fatima Miracle of the Sun is October 13. On this day, many miraculous events occurred in Fatima. This would be a great book to read this month!
Rosary and Hallowtide Resources from Holy Heroes
I recently spoke with Clara Davison from Holy Heroes to talk about all of their Rosary and Hallowtide resources! She shared books and ideas for praying the Rosary as a family, as well as a free All Saints Day banner and other goodies for your All Saints Day celebrations. They also have a new Glory Story coming out this fall that I am so excited about!
Attention all DRES! Info for the 30% off parish and schools discount: Any time, DREs or teachers can email customerservice@holyheroes.com with their parish or school info. Kristine will give them a coupon code to use at checkout! All they have to do is email and request it!
Catholic Halloween Resources
For Catholics, October 31st is the start of a holy period of 3 days known as the Triduum of Hallowtide: All Saints Eve (October 31st), The Solemnity of All Saints (November 1st), and All Souls Day (November 2nd). Check out these posts below for what Catholics should (and shouldn’t partake in) on Halloween and the rest of the holy season of Hallowtide.
Catholic Halloween! It’s our feast, and we’re going to enjoy it!
This post from Lisa Mladinich includes some excellent resources for celebrating Halloween, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day! Be sure to check it out for how Catholics can observe and celebrate these 3 days.
Happy Halloween for Tweens and Teens
Do you have any tweens and teens in your life? Here are some great suggestions for celebrating Hallowtide with this age group. I especially love #2!
Ouija Boards: Portals of Evil
The Catechism of the Catholic church states: “All practices of magic or sorcery, by which one attempts to tame occult powers, so as to place them at one’s service and have a supernatural power over others – even if this were for the sake of restoring their health – are gravely contrary to the virtue of religion.” CCC 2117
In this post, Mary Ellen Barrett explains why ouija boards and other occult practices open up children to evil. Be sure to steer your children far from any occult practices, especially warning them of these practices around Halloween time!
How to Celebrate and Observe All Hallows Eve, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day
Alex Resch shares how to celebrate and observe All Hallows Eve, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day with kids! The article includes Catholic Halloween decor, prayers, and other activities and traditions.
All Hallows’ Eve
The triduum of All Hallows’ Tide is one of my favorite times of the year. It is full of so many rich traditions, prayers, and fun! We kick off these 3 holy days with All Hallows’ Eve (aka: Halloween). I had no idea about the Catholic roots of this holiday until I was an adult. Thankfully, Anthony DeStefano has come out with a picture book, All Hallows’ Eve, to explain this day to children in an age appropriate, rich, and meaningful way.
Free Catechist Resources
This month’s free catechist resources include:
- Lesson plan tips
- A patron for adult faith formation
- Classroom management tips and techniques from 2 experienced catechists
The 4 Key Questions for Lesson Plans
In this post, Brandon Harvey lays out how to plan your catechism class lesson plans by answering 4 key questions.
Newman: Patron of Adult Faith Formation
John Henry Newman’s feast day is on October 9th. Father Juan Velez explains why he can be considered the patron of adult faith formation in this informative post.
Classroom Management Strategies
Helen published this detailed and helpful article with her best classroom management strategies for your faith formation classes this year. Be sure to bookmark or pin the post to refer to it all year long!
Classroom Management and Teaching Effectiveness for Catechists
Our last post in our October round up is a column by another one of our talented writers, Mark Trolio. In this post, Mark gives tons of excellent tips for helping you to succeed as a catechist this year!
Helpful October links from around the web:
- October feast day recipes
- Soul Cake history and recipe for All Souls Day
- Hallowtide Interview with Kendra Tierney on Homeschooling Saints Podcast
- How to Talk to Kids About Death During Hallowtide
- Catholic Momcast 370: Celebrating Hallowtide
This article was originally published on 9/30/24, and was updated on 9/23/26.
2. Play Battleship – Battle of Lepanto Style!
5. Take a Rosary walk