All Souls’ Day

Today is the solemn commemoration of all the faithful departed. Following directly on the feast of All Saints, All Souls’ Day remembers the Church Suffering, those souls destined to join the Church Triumphant but who must still be purified of their past sins before they can enter Heaven. The Holy Souls rely upon us, the Church Militant upon earth, to offer prayers and sacrifices, particularly the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, to speed their journey to Heaven, and they will certainly pray for us when they arrive.

On this day and the days following, the Church offers us special opportunities to gain plenary indulgences for the Holy Souls. You can obtain one such indulgence, applicable only to the Souls in Purgatory, if you visit a church or an oratory today and recite one Our Father and one Apostles’ Creed. You can also gain one per day from November 1st – 8th, again only applicable to the Souls in Purgatory, by visiting a cemetery and praying, even just mentally, for the Holy Souls. The usual conditions for plenary indulgences apply in both cases.

Today, countless Requiem Masses will be offered for the Holy Souls. In 2017, the Fraternity released Requiem, a chant setting of the Requiem Mass sung by the priests of the Fraternity and recorded at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary. You can hear a sample of the album below, and you can buy a copy at our new bookstore website here.

Réquiem ætérnam dona eis, Dómine: et lux perpétua lúceat eis: cum Sanctis tuis in ætérnum: quia pius es.

Eternal rest give to them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them: with Thy Saints for evermore, for Thou art gracious.

– from the Communion for today