Canada's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, located at the National War Memorial in Ottawa, recently marked its 25th anniversary. The remains of an unidentified soldier from World War I were interred there on May 28, 2000. During a recent visit, King Charles III laid a wreath at the tomb, coinciding with the anniversary of its dedication.

The repatriation of the soldier's remains, which were recovered from near Vimy, France, was a significant event during the millennium celebrations in Ottawa. The ceremony included a lying-in-state in the Parliament rotunda, a procession in a horse-drawn carriage, and a reburial at the cenotaph with full military honors.

Honoring fallen soldiers is a tradition as old as warfare itself. However, the practice of commemorating unknown soldiers emerged after World War I, a conflict that resulted in unprecedented loss of life. The Canadian Vimy Memorial lists the names of 11,285 soldiers who died in France and whose graves remain unknown. In total, over 66,000 Canadians lost their lives during World War I.

On November 11, 1920, exactly two years after the armistice, the Unknown Warrior was buried at Westminster Abbey in London. King George V attended the ceremony, which involved the remains of an unidentified British soldier being transported through the city to the abbey. A custom has since developed that prohibits anyone from walking over the tomb, requiring all grand processions at the abbey to divert around it, including coronations and royal weddings.

On the same day in France, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was established at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, a monument that is more grandiose than its counterpart in London. Other nations followed suit, with Rome establishing its own Unknown Soldier's resting place in 1921 at the monumental Victor Emmanuel II complex. This site, while massive, is often overlooked by passersby, contrasting with the prominent role of the tomb in the life of the Eternal City.

The Roman tomb is located beneath the "Altar of the Fatherland" and is adorned with a pagan goddess, while the tomb at Westminster Abbey features biblical verses, reflecting its Christian significance. The tradition of honoring unknown saints has deep roots in Christianity, referenced in the Bible as the "great cloud of witnesses" (Hebrews 12:1) and the "great multitude which no man could number" (Revelation 7:9). The feast of All Saints, celebrated on November 1, precedes Remembrance Day and serves as a military application of this Christian practice.

Poland also has a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier located in Warsaw's central square. This site gained historical significance when St. John Paul II celebrated Mass there during his first visit to Poland as pope. In a powerful sermon, he highlighted the importance of the unknown soldier, stating, "We are before the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. In how many places in our native land has that soldier fallen! The history of the motherland written through the tomb of an Unknown Soldier!"

John Paul II continued, expressing reverence for the sacrifices made by countless individuals, saying, "I wish to kneel before this tomb to venerate every seed that falls into the earth and dies and thus bears fruit. It may be the seed of the blood of a soldier shed on the battlefield, or the sacrifice of martyrdom in concentration camps or in prisons. It may be the seed of hard daily toil, with the sweat of one’s brow, in the fields, the workshop, the mine, the foundries and the factories. It may be the seed of the love of parents who do not refuse to give life to a new human being and undertake the whole of the task of bringing him up. It may be the seed of creative work in the universities, the higher institutes, the libraries and the places where the national culture is built."