A novena for the dead is nine days of prayer for the soul of someone who has died. Catholics pray it in the days after a death, before or after the funeral, on an anniversary, and especially in the nine days before All Souls Day. The novena below uses nine of the Church’s own prayers for the dead, taken from the Church’s ancient liturgy for the dead and collected in the prayer book Blessed Be God (1925) as the “Nine Days’ Prayer for One Recently Deceased.”
How to pray the novena for the dead
Each day:
- Begin with the Sign of the Cross and offer the novena for your loved one by name.
- Pray the prayer of the day below, saying the person’s name at “N.”
- Pray an Our Father, a Hail Mary and a Glory Be, or a decade of the Rosary.
- End with the Eternal Rest prayer:
Eternal rest grant unto him (her), O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him (her).
May he (she) rest in peace. Amen.
The prayers use “he” and “his”; change them to “she” and “her” for a woman. You can pray the novena for several people at once, or for all the faithful departed.
Day 1
O God, to Whom it belongs always to have mercy and to spare, we humbly beseech Thee for the soul of Thy servant, N., which Thou hast commanded to depart out of this world: that Thou deliver it not into the hands of the enemy, nor forget it unto the end; but command it to be received by Thy holy angels, and conducted into paradise, its true country; that, as in Thee it hath hoped and believed, it may not suffer the pains of hell, but may take possession of eternal joys. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Day 2
To Thee, O Lord, do we commend the soul of Thy servant, N., that being dead to the world he may live unto Thee; and whatsoever sins he has committed through the frailty of his mortal nature, do Thou, by the pardon of Thy most merciful love, wash away. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Day 3
We beseech Thee, O Lord, that Thou wouldst vouchsafe to grant fellowship with Thy saints and elect to the soul of Thy servant, N., whose departure we commemorate, and mayest Thou pour upon it the everlasting dew of Thy mercy. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Day 4
Incline Thine ear, O Lord, unto the prayers in which we suppliantly entreat Thy mercy; and do Thou establish, in a place of peace and rest, the soul of Thy servant, N., whom Thou hast bidden to pass out of this world, and unite him to the fellowship of Thy saints. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Day 5
Absolve, we beseech Thee, O Lord, the soul of Thy servant, N., from every bond of sin, that, being raised in the glory of the Resurrection, he may be refreshed among Thy saints and elect. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Day 6
We beseech Thee, O Lord, by Thy loving kindness, to have mercy on the soul of Thy servant, N., and now, that he is released from the contagion of this mortal flesh, to give him part in Thine eternal salvation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Day 7
We implore Thee, O Lord, mercifully to grant companionship with the blessed in heaven to the soul of Thy servant, N., whose death we commemorate. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Day 8
Receive, O Lord, our prayers on behalf of the soul of Thy servant, N., that, if it is still soiled by any earthly stains, it may be purified by Thy merciful forgiveness. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Day 9
Grant, O Lord, we beseech Thee, this mercy unto Thy servant deceased, that, having in desire kept Thy will, he may not suffer in requital of his deeds: and as a true faith joined him unto the company of Thy faithful here below, so may Thy tender mercy give him place above, among the angel choirs. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
On the last day, if you can, have a Mass offered for your loved one or attend Mass and receive Holy Communion for him (her).
The All Souls novena
Many parishes and families pray a novena for all the faithful departed from October 24 to November 1, ending the day before All Souls Day. In 2026 it begins on Saturday, October 24 and ends on Sunday, November 1 (All Saints Day), and All Souls Day falls on Monday, November 2. Pray the prayers above for all the dead, especially your own family and the forgotten souls, and see our All Souls Day guide.
From November 1 to 8, Catholics can also gain a plenary indulgence, applicable only to the souls in purgatory, by devoutly visiting a cemetery and praying for the dead, under the usual conditions (sacramental confession, Holy Communion and prayer for the Pope’s intentions, with no attachment to sin).
When to pray a novena for the dead
- Right after a death, often ending on the day of the funeral or the ninth day after the death.
- Before an anniversary, ending on the day itself. See the death anniversary prayer.
- Before All Souls Day, October 24 to November 1.
- At any time for a family member, a friend, or the souls no one prays for.
The custom of nine days of prayer for the dead is very old. In ancient Rome the family mourned for nine days and ended with a meal, the novendialis; Christians kept the nine days but filled them with prayer. Today the cardinals still observe nine days of Masses, the novendiales, after the death of a Pope.
Why pray for the dead?
Those who die in God’s grace but still need purification are helped by our prayers. Scripture praises Judas Maccabeus for praying for his fallen soldiers:
And making a gathering, he sent twelve thousand drachms of silver to Jerusalem for sacrifice to be offered for the sins of the dead, thinking well and religiously concerning the resurrection,
(For if he had not hoped that they that were slain should rise again, it would have seemed superfluous and vain to pray for the dead,)
And because he considered that they who had fallen asleep with godliness, had great grace laid up for them.
It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins.
“Our prayer for them is capable not only of helping them, but also of making their intercession for us effective” (CCC 958).
Frequently asked questions
When should a novena for the dead start?
There is no fixed rule. Many families begin on the day of death or the day after; for an anniversary or All Souls, count back so that the ninth day falls on the day itself.
Can I pray a novena for someone who was not Catholic?
Yes. We can pray for every person who has died and entrust them to God’s mercy.
Can the novena be prayed in a group?
Yes. Families often pray it together each evening, sometimes with the Rosary, as in many Latin American and Filipino homes, where the nine nights of prayer are called the novenario or pasiyam.
More prayers for the dead
- Gregorian Masses
- Catholic prayers for the dead
- Prayers for deceased loved ones
- Prayer for the souls in purgatory
- Rosary for the dead
- Novenas
Texts and sources
- The nine prayers: Charles J. Callan and John A. McHugh, Blessed Be God (1925), Prayers for the Dead, “Nine Days’ Prayer for One Recently Deceased,” public domain (Wikisource). The prayers come from the Church’s traditional Latin liturgy for the dead.
- Scripture: 2 Machabees (Maccabees) 12:43–46, Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner), public domain.
- Catechism of the Catholic Church 958.
- Plenary indulgence for the dead (November 1–8): Enchiridion of Indulgences, grant 29.