2 November

The day the Church prays for all her dead.

On 2 November the Church remembers every soul in purgatory — not only the ones we knew. It is the most democratic feast in the calendar: the forgotten dead, the unmourned, those whose names nobody living remembers, are prayed for by the whole Church at once.

The Prayer of the Day

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May they rest in peace. Amen.

O God, the Creator and Redeemer of all the faithful,
grant to the souls of Your servants departed
the remission of all their sins,
that through our pious supplications
they may obtain the pardon they have always desired.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

At the Graveside

Lord, we stand where they are buried,
and we know this is not the end of them.

Bless this ground and all who lie in it.
Bless those who come here and those who cannot.
And when our turn comes, let someone stand here for us. Amen.

The November Indulgences

• 1 to 8 November: a plenary indulgence, applicable only to the holy souls, for devoutly visiting a cemetery and praying for the dead.
• 2 November: a plenary indulgence for visiting a church or oratory and praying the Our Father and the Creed.
• The usual conditions apply: sacramental confession, Holy Communion, prayer for the Holy Father’s intentions, and detachment from all sin.
• On other days of the year, the cemetery visit gains a partial indulgence.

About This Day

All Souls follows All Saints deliberately: on the first day the Church looks at those who have arrived, on the second at those still on the way. Between them they describe the whole communion of saints, which includes the people in your parish and the ones in the churchyard outside it.