Devotion
How to Keep All Saints' and All Souls' Days
Catholic devotion · 7 steps
The first two days of November: Mass on the holy day of All Saints, prayer for the dead on All Souls, the cemetery visits from 1 to 8 November that carry a plenary indulgence for the departed, and keeping the whole month for the Holy Souls.
7 steps · About 15 minutes
November opens with two days that belong together. On 1 November the Church keeps the Solemnity of All Saints, honouring in one feast the whole company of heaven, the canonised and the countless unknown; in the United States it is a holy day of obligation. On 2 November, the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, she turns to the dead who are still being purified, and prays for them; on that day every priest may celebrate Mass three times. Around the two days the Church has attached her indulgences — a plenary indulgence, applicable only to the souls in purgatory, for visiting a cemetery and praying for the dead on each day from 1 to 8 November, and for visiting a church on All Souls' Day and praying the Our Father and the Creed — so that the communion of saints becomes something the living actually do: they go to the graves, and they pray.
What you need
- The Mass times for All Saints, and a note of whether the obligation binds this year
- The names of your own dead, written down, to be prayed for by name
- A plan to visit a cemetery between 1 and 8 November, with flowers or a candle if you wish
- For the indulgence: confession within a few days, Communion, and prayer for the Pope's intentions
When to pray it
1 November (All Saints) and 2 November (All Souls), with cemetery visits any day from 1 to 8 November; the whole of November is traditionally devoted to the Holy Souls, and the Eternal Rest prayer belongs to every day of it.
Steps
Step 1: Keep All Saints as a holy day
Go to Mass on 1 November, the Solemnity of All Saints. It is a holy day of obligation in the United States, though when it falls on a Saturday or a Monday the obligation to attend is abrogated by the bishops' 1991 decision, and the solemnity is kept without the precept. The Mass honours the multitude no one can count from the vision of Revelation 7, and its Gospel is the Beatitudes: the saints are those who lived them. Pray the in thanksgiving, and remember your own patrons, your confirmation saint, and the saints of your family; the vigil of the feast, All Hallows' Eve, is best kept by looking forward to it. This is a feast of joy, not of mourning — that comes tomorrow.
Tips
- When 1 November falls on a Saturday or a Monday, the obligation to attend Mass is lifted in the United States, though the solemnity is still kept; check the parish bulletin.
- The cemetery indulgence can be gained once each day from 1 to 8 November, so eight visits could be offered for eight different people — but the conditions of confession, Communion and prayer for the Pope apply to each.
- Take children to the graves. Nothing teaches the communion of saints better than praying by name for a grandparent at the place where their body rests.
- Enrol your dead in the parish's November list, or bring an All Souls envelope: the Masses offered for them all month are the Church's greatest gift to the departed.