When your husband or wife dies, you lose the person with whom you became “one flesh,” and the grief touches every part of your life. The Catholic faith invites you to keep loving your spouse by praying for their soul, and to bring your loneliness and sorrow to God, who is “the father of orphans, and the judge of widows.” Below are prayers for a deceased husband and for a deceased wife, prayers for widows and widowers, a prayer for the wedding anniversary and the anniversary of death, and Scripture on a love that is “strong as death.” Many saints were widows or widowers and can walk with you.
A short prayer for my spouse, written for this page:
Lord, you joined us in marriage, and now death has parted us.
Have mercy on my husband (wife), (name). Forgive his (her) sins and reward every act of love.
Keep us united in you until we meet again. Eternal rest grant unto him (her), O Lord. Amen.
A prayer for a deceased husband
The Church’s prayer for a man who has died, from a Catholic prayer book of 1883 (say his name at “N.”):
Hear, we beseech thee, O Lord, our prayers, which we humbly address to thy mercy, that the soul of thy servant N., which thou hast called out of this world, may be received into the region of light and peace, and be numbered amongst the blessed: through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
A prayer for a deceased wife
The Church’s prayer for a woman who has died, from the same book:
We beseech thee, O Lord, according to thy great goodness, to show mercy to the soul of thy servant N., that, being now delivered from the corruptions of this mortal life, she may be received into the inheritance of eternal bliss: through Christ our Lord. Amen.
A prayer for widows and widowers
Written for this page.
Lord, I wake up and he (she) is not here. The house is silent and my heart is heavy.
Be my companion now. Give me strength for each day, wisdom for the decisions I must make alone,
and the comfort of your presence. Amen.
Prayer on our wedding anniversary
Lord, today would have been our wedding anniversary.
Thank you for the years you gave us, for our joys and even our struggles.
Keep my spouse in your peace, and keep me faithful to the love we promised. Amen.
Love stronger than death
Canticle of Canticles 8:6–7 (Douay-Rheims):
Put me as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon thy arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy as hard as hell, the lamps thereof are fire and flames.
Many waters cannot quench charity, neither can the floods drown it: if a man should give all the substance of his house for love, he shall despise it as nothing.
St. Paul (Romans 8:38–39, Douay-Rheims):
For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor might,
Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Psalm 146:3 (Douay-Rheims):
Who healeth the broken of heart, and bindeth up their bruises.
Saints who lost a husband or wife
- St. Elizabeth of Hungary, whose beloved husband died on crusade when she was twenty. See St. Elizabeth of Hungary.
- St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, widowed at twenty-nine with five children. See the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton prayer.
- St. Rita of Cascia, who prayed for her husband after his murder. See the St. Rita prayer.
- St. Monica, who won her husband to Christ before his death. See the St. Monica prayer.
Frequently asked questions
Will I be married to my spouse in heaven?
Jesus taught that in the resurrection “they shall neither marry nor be married” (Matthew 22:30), but love is not lost: in heaven we will love those we loved on earth even more, in God.
How can I help my husband’s or wife’s soul?
By having Masses offered, praying for them every day, gaining indulgences for them, and doing good works in their memory. See Mass intentions for the dead.
Who is the patron saint of widows?
St. Paula, St. Monica, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, St. Frances of Rome and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton are often invoked by widows.
More prayers
- Prayers for deceased loved ones
- Catholic prayer for marriage
- Patron saint of grief
- Catholic prayers for the dead
- Novena for the dead
- Eternal rest prayer
Texts and sources
- Patrick F. Moran, The Catholic Prayer Book and Manual of Meditations (1883), Prayers for the Dead, public domain (Wikisource).
- Canticle of Canticles 8:6–7; Romans 8:38–39; Psalm 146:3 (Douay-Rheims).