Catholic Saint Inspiration for Halloween Costumes

With the air finally getting crisper and the leaves falling to the ground, its time to think about the spookiest Catholic holiday around - Halloween (and yes, Halloween is a Catholic holiday)! Halloween, or All Hallows' Eve, is the first day in Hallowtide, the three-day observance of the souls both in heaven and purgatory and a time to reflect on our own mortality. While its perfectly acceptable (and possibly preferable) for Catholic kids to celebrate the holiday by dressing up and trick-or-treating, it's best to stay away from the more occult elements of the modern Halloween celebration. One way to do this is to dress up not as witches, but instead as Catholic saints! And good news - you can reuse these costumes for the All Saints Day party at your parish the very next day!

Catholic Saint Costumes

When it comes to Catholic Halloween and All Saints Day costumes, the possibilities are endless! Below are a just a few ideas for the boys and girls in your life.

Marian Costumes

The many different titles of Mary give young girls a whole slew of Marian costume choices! Most can use a white or blue dress as a base and then adding different capes and props to identify with a specific apparition. Our Lady of Fatima has a gold crown and a rosary; Our Lady of Lourdes has a blue sash and flowers surrounding her feet; Our Lady of La Salette has a yellow apron, flowers adorning a crown. 

Check out Our Lady's Paper Doll Wardrobe for some inspiration!

St. John the Baptist

A St. John the Baptist costume can be as simple or intricate (and gory!) as you want. Don a brown shirt, tie a red or green blanket around your shoulders as a wrap, and grab a walking stick and jar of honey for a simple John the Baptist look. For those looking to lean into the macabre, build out a costume that incorporates John the Baptist's head on a platter! If the boys in your life want more gory saint costume inspiration, look into St. Sebastian covered in arrows or St. Bartholomew carrying his own skin. 

St. Lucy

Want a gory option for a girl? Look no further than St. Lucy, whose eyes were gouged out during her torture. St. Lucy is portrayed wearing different colored dresses and capes (pink and blue, respectively, or white and purple), so no need to picky. Focus on the most important part of the costume - a platter with eyeballs on it! Extra points for blacking out your eyes and carrying around a palm branch, symbolizing her martyrdom.

Here's a St. Lucy statue for reference.

St. Elizabeth of Hungary

For the little girl who loves princesses, there's no shortage of saintly princesses. St. Elizabeth of Hungary is a simple one to make a costume for - a red dress, white head covering, crown, and white apron with fake roses glued onto it. Other princess saints include St. Margaret of Scotland and St. Helena. Pretty much any princess dress in your costume closet will suffice!

St. George

Knights are a tried and true costume for little boys and perhaps the most famous Catholic knight is St. George. If you have a knight costume laying around, all you need to add is a stuffed dragon as a prop!

Check out our St. George wooden playset.

St. Longinus

Perhaps a lesser known saint, St. Longinus was the Roman soldier who pierced Jesus' side at the Crucifixion. Hit up a thrift store to find a Roman centurion costume, or throw one together yourself by making a breastplate and using a red blanket as cape. Finish it off with a sword. This costume could double as St. Michael the Archangel, too!

Read about St. Longinus and other forgotten saints in More Once Upon a Time Saints.

Happy trick-or-treating!