All Souls Day, officially the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, falls on Monday, November 2, 2026. On this day the whole Church prays for everyone who has died in God’s friendship but may still need purification before seeing Him face to face. It is not a holy day of obligation, but it is one of the most loved days of the Catholic year: families go to Mass, visit graves, light candles and offer prayers for parents, grandparents, friends and the forgotten dead.
Below you will find what the day means, the prayers to say, how to gain the plenary indulgence for the dead between November 1 and 8, and answers to the questions people ask most.
All Souls Day at a glance
- 2026 date: Monday, November 2 (in 2027: Tuesday, November 2).
- Official name: The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed.
- Rank: a commemoration that is kept even when November 2 falls on a Sunday.
- Holy day of obligation: no. Sunday Mass and the holy days of obligation remain the only days Catholics are bound to attend.
- Liturgical color: violet. In the dioceses of the United States, black or white may also be used (GIRM 346).
- What to do: go to Mass, pray for the dead, visit a cemetery, have a Mass offered for someone who has died.
What the Church celebrates on All Souls Day
The day before, on All Saints Day, the Church rejoices with all who already see God. On November 2 she turns to those who died in God’s grace but are not yet fully purified. The Catechism calls this final purification purgatory and teaches that it is “entirely different from the punishment of the damned” (CCC 1030–1031). The souls in purgatory are saved; what remains is the healing of every attachment that still holds them back from perfect love.
Because the Church is one family in Christ, the living can help them. Scripture already praises Judas Maccabeus for offering sacrifice for fallen soldiers: “It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins” (2 Maccabees 12:46). The Catechism continues: “From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice” (CCC 1032). That is why the heart of All Souls Day is the Mass.
All Souls Day is also a day of hope. We do not pray for the dead as people without hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13). We pray because death is not the end of love, and because we believe in the resurrection of the body.
All Saints Day and All Souls Day: what is the difference?
- All Saints Day (November 1) honors everyone already in heaven, canonized or not. It is a solemnity and, in most years, a holy day of obligation in the United States.
- All Souls Day (November 2) is a day of prayer for the dead who are still being purified. It is a commemoration, not a holy day of obligation.
The two days belong together. On the first we look at where we hope to arrive; on the second we help those still on the way.
How Catholics observe All Souls Day
- Go to Mass. Since 1915, when Pope Benedict XV issued the apostolic constitution Incruentum Altaris, every priest may celebrate three Masses on All Souls Day: one for a particular intention, one for all the faithful departed and one for the intentions of the Holy Father.
- Have a Mass offered for someone who has died. Ask your parish to offer a Mass for a parent, spouse, child or friend. See my guide to Mass intentions for the dead for what to write.
- Write names in the parish Book of the Dead. Many parishes keep a book or a basket of names near the altar for the whole of November and remember those names at every Mass.
- Visit a cemetery. Pray at the graves of your family, and also at graves that no one seems to visit. A visit between November 1 and 8 can gain a plenary indulgence for the dead (see below).
- Light a candle. A candle at a grave or before a family photograph at home is a simple sign of the light of Christ that we ask for the departed.
- Pray at home. Read the names of your family’s dead at the evening meal and pray the Eternal Rest prayer after each name. Children understand this immediately.
Prayers for All Souls Day
Eternal Rest (Requiem Aeternam)
This is the Church’s oldest and simplest prayer for the dead. Pray it after each name.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May they rest in peace. Amen.
May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
In Latin: Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Requiescant in pace. Amen. For the history of this prayer and versions for one person, see the full page on the Eternal Rest prayer.
Psalm 130 (De Profundis)
The Church has prayed this psalm for the dead for centuries. This is the public-domain Douay-Rheims translation, where it is numbered Psalm 129.
Out of the depths I have cried to thee, O Lord: Lord, hear my voice.
Let thy ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.
If thou, O Lord, wilt mark iniquities: Lord, who shall stand it?
For with thee there is merciful forgiveness: and by reason of thy law, I have waited for thee, O Lord.
My soul hath relied on his word: my soul hath hoped in the Lord.
From the morning watch even until night, let Israel hope in the Lord.
Because with the Lord there is mercy: and with him plentiful redemption.
And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.
A prayer for all the faithful departed
I wrote this prayer for families who want something a little longer to say together on November 2.
Lord Jesus Christ, you wept at the grave of your friend Lazarus and you rose from the dead on the third day.
Remember all who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith, especially N. and N.
Forgive them whatever they did wrong through human weakness, complete in them the work of your grace, and bring them into the light of your face.
Remember also the dead whom no one remembers, those who died alone, and those who have no one to pray for them.
Comfort all who mourn, and keep us faithful, so that one day we may be reunited with them in your kingdom, where you live and reign for ever and ever. Amen.
Prayer for deceased parents
A traditional prayer found in older Catholic prayer books:
O God, who hast commanded us to honor our father and our mother,
in thy mercy have pity on the souls of my father and mother,
and forgive them their trespasses;
and make me to see them again in the joy of everlasting brightness.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
More prayers for a mother, father, spouse or child are on the page prayers for deceased loved ones.
The St. Gertrude prayer
Many Catholics add the prayer associated with St. Gertrude the Great during November. The text, and an honest note on the promise often printed with it, are on the St. Gertrude prayer page.
The All Souls indulgence: November 1–8
The Church grants special indulgences that can be offered only for the souls in purgatory during the first days of November. They are described in the Enchiridion of Indulgences (grant 29).
Plenary indulgence (once per day):
- From November 1 to November 8: devoutly visit a cemetery and pray, even if only mentally, for the dead.
- On All Souls Day: devoutly visit a church or oratory and pray an Our Father and the Creed. With the bishop’s consent this may also be done on the Sunday before or after, or on All Saints Day.
The usual conditions apply to every plenary indulgence:
- Sacramental confession (it may be made some days before or after; one confession can serve for several indulgences).
- Holy Communion, ideally on the same day.
- A prayer for the intentions of the Pope (an Our Father and a Hail Mary are enough).
- Freedom from all attachment to sin, even venial sin. If this last condition is not fully met, the indulgence is partial.
Partial indulgences can be gained on other days of the year by visiting a cemetery and praying for the dead, and by praying the Eternal Rest prayer or Lauds or Vespers from the Office for the Dead.
In 2020 and 2021 the Apostolic Penitentiary extended the cemetery indulgence across the whole of November. If you are unable to visit a cemetery, ask your parish whether a similar provision has been announced for this year.
A short history of All Souls Day
Christians prayed for the dead from the earliest centuries; inscriptions in the Roman catacombs ask the reader to pray for the person buried there, and St. Augustine records that his mother Monica asked only to be remembered “at the altar of the Lord” (Confessions, Book IX). A single annual day for all the dead was set at the abbey of Cluny by St. Odilo around the year 998. Cluny’s many monasteries spread the custom, and by the thirteenth century November 2 was kept throughout the Western Church.
Local customs grew around the day: soul cakes in England, cemetery vigils with candles in Poland and Italy, families cleaning and decorating graves in the Philippines, and, in Mexico, Día de Muertos, which blends the Christian feasts of November 1 and 2 with older family traditions.
Prayers of the Faithful for All Souls Day
If you are preparing the intercessions for an All Souls Mass, I have written a full set of petitions, with names-friendly options and a closing prayer, on the page Prayers of the Faithful for All Souls Day. For funerals and memorial Masses during the year, see the funeral Prayers of the Faithful.
Frequently asked questions
Is All Souls Day a holy day of obligation?
No. Catholics are not required to attend Mass on November 2, although going to Mass is the best way to pray for the dead. All Saints Day on November 1 is the holy day (in 2026 it falls on a Sunday).
What happens if November 2 falls on a Sunday?
All Souls Day is still celebrated on the Sunday and replaces the Sunday in Ordinary Time. This last happened in 2025.
Why do Catholics pray for the dead?
Because love does not end at death and because the souls in purgatory can be helped by our prayers, sacrifices and above all by the Mass (CCC 958 and CCC 1032). We cannot know for certain who is still in purgatory, so the Church encourages us to keep praying for all our dead.
Can I pray for someone who was not Catholic?
Yes. We commend every person who has died to the mercy of God, who alone knows the heart. The Church prays at every Mass for “all who have died in your mercy.”
Can I offer the indulgence for one particular person?
Yes. A plenary indulgence for the dead can be offered for a particular soul, such as a parent or friend. How God applies it is known to Him alone, so many people also offer some indulgences for the souls who have no one to pray for them.
Is All Souls Day the same as Day of the Dead?
Not exactly. Día de Muertos is a Mexican cultural celebration that coincides with All Saints and All Souls and draws on them, but it also includes family traditions that are not part of the Church’s liturgy. All Souls Day is the liturgical commemoration kept by the whole Catholic Church.
What color do priests wear on All Souls Day?
Violet is used everywhere. In the United States black or white is also permitted for Masses for the dead.
More prayers
- All Hallows’ Eve (Halloween)
- Dies Irae, the hymn of the Requiem Mass
- Novena for the dead
- Rosary for the dead
Sources
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 954–958 and 1030–1032
- General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 346
- Apostolic Penitentiary, Enchiridion of Indulgences (4th edition, 1999), grant 29
- Benedict XV, apostolic constitution Incruentum Altaris (August 10, 1915)
- 2 Maccabees 12:38–46; St. Augustine, Confessions, Book IX