According to The New Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Apostles' Creed or the Nicene Creed used during the Mass no longer includes the phrase "the communion of saints".

On the other hand, this is still included in Masses said in English-speaking countries and also in Italy (la comunione dei santi). This I can vouch for as I recently heard them during my travels.

I remember that up to some 40 years ago the same expression "ix-xirka tal-qaddisin" was also part of the Creed in Maltese. The expression does not seem to be used in French churches. Many other Christian churches also include this expression, but it has now disappeared completely from the modern Mass in Maltese. "Communio sanctorum" does not seem to appear in the Latin Missale Romanum of 1962. As far as I can establish, Vatican Council II did not eliminate or remove this expression.

Having said that, when using the shortened version of the Creed, such as on the feast of Pentecost, one of the declarations of faith specifically mentions the communion of saints.

Can some learned person kindly explain this difference? Better still, do we still believe in the "communion of saints" or not? I ask this as we still celebrate All Saints Day on November 1 each year.

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