The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls)
Commemoration
- Feast Day
- November 2
The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, popularly called All Souls' Day, is the Church's annual day of universal prayer for the souls of the dead, especially those undergoing purification in purgatory. Its institution is traditionally attributed to Saint Odilo, fifth Abbot of Cluny, who in 998 established November 2 as a day for the monks of Cluny and its dependent houses to offer prayers and Masses for all the departed. The observance spread rapidly through the Cluniac monasteries and was adopted by the universal Latin Church by the thirteenth century.
By a privilege restored under Pope Benedict XV in 1915 (in the wake of the First World War's massive death toll) and confirmed in subsequent legislation, every priest may celebrate three Masses on All Souls' Day: one for the intention of the faithful departed, one for the intention of the Holy Father, and one for the priest's own intention. The day follows immediately upon the Solemnity of All Saints, expressing the unity of the Church Militant, the Church Suffering, and the Church Triumphant. Visiting a cemetery and praying for the dead during the Octave of All Saints is one of the works that gains a plenary indulgence applicable to the souls in purgatory.
All Souls is rooted in 2 Maccabees 12:46, which teaches that it is a holy and pious thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from their sins. The day is a concrete act of charity that crosses the threshold of death, expressing belief in purgatory, the reality of the resurrection, and the obligation of the living to assist the departed by prayer, almsgiving, and especially the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
From The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls)
"It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from their sins."
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