THE commemoration of all the faithful departed – All Souls Day – is celebrated by the Church on today .
The theological basis for the feast is the doctrine that the souls which, on departing from the body are not perfectly cleansed from venial sins, or have not fully atoned for past transgressions, are not permitted to enter the Beatific Vision, and that the faithful on earth can help them by prayers, almsgiving and especially the sacrifice of the Mass.
For All Souls’ Day, Pope Francis will continue his recent custom of holding a Mass at a cemetery to pray for the dead.
Since 2016, Pope Francis has celebrated a Mass at five different cemeteries in or near Rome.
For All Souls’ Day in 2019, he celebrated Mass at the Catacombs of Priscilla, while in 2022 he did not visit a cemetery but offered Mass for deceased bishops and cardinals in St Peter’s Basilica – another papal custom during the week of All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days.
Pope Francis will again return to a cemetery to mark All Souls’ Day.
He will celebrate a Mass at 10am at the Rome War Cemetery, which contains 426 Commonwealth burials from the Second World War.
The small cemetery is near the Pyramid of Cestius, a Roman-era pyramid in the Ostiense neighbourhood south of the historic centre of Rome.
On November 3, Pope Francis will celebrate a Mass in St Peter’s Basilica for the repose of the soul of Pope Benedict XVI and the bishops and cardinals who have died in the previous year.
It is the Pope’s practice to offer this Mass sometime during the first week of November.
On All Souls’ Day, Catholics pray for the souls of their deceased loved ones, as well as for all souls who may be in Purgatory.
Catholics often visit cemeteries on All Souls’ Day to offer prayers for the deceased, and it is a common practice to light candles and place flowers on the graves of loved ones.
