Eternal Rest Prayer (Requiem Aeternam): Words, Meaning and When to Pray It

The Eternal Rest prayer is the Church’s simplest and most beloved prayer for the dead. Here it is in full:

Catholics pray it at funerals and wakes, at the graveside, after grace at meals, at the end of the Rosary, when they pass a cemetery, on the anniversary of a death and throughout November. Below you will find versions for one person, the Latin original, short prayers for a soul to rest in peace, where the prayer comes from and what the Church teaches about it.

Eternal Rest prayer for one person

When you pray for a particular person, change them to him or her and add the name:

For example: “Eternal rest grant unto Maria, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her. May she rest in peace. Amen.”

The Eternal Rest prayer in Latin (Requiem aeternam)

For many people:

For one person:

The second part, often said at the end of grace after meals and at the end of each hour of the traditional Divine Office, is:

Requiescat in pace (“may he or she rest in peace”) is the origin of the letters R.I.P. on gravestones.

Short prayers for a soul to rest in peace

When you hear of a death, light a candle or pass a grave, any of these brief prayers will do. They come from the Church’s liturgy and long tradition.

• May God grant him (her) eternal rest.
• Merciful Lord Jesus, grant them eternal rest. (From the Dies Irae: “Pie Iesu Domine, dona eis requiem.”)
• May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
• Lord, remember N. in your kingdom. (Compare the good thief, Luke 23:42.)
• Jesus, Mary and Joseph, assist N. and all the dying. (A traditional ejaculation for those near death.)

And a fuller prayer that I wrote for families to pray on the day of a funeral or an anniversary:

Where the Eternal Rest prayer comes from

The words come from the Introit of the Mass for the Dead, the chant sung as the priest approached the altar at a Requiem Mass: “Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine: et lux perpetua luceat eis.” That is why the whole Mass for the Dead came to be called a Requiem, and why composers from Mozart to Fauré begin their Requiems with these words.

The phrasing echoes a passage of the Second Book of Esdras (also called 4 Esdras), a Jewish and Christian text that was widely read in the early Church: “Look for your Shepherd, he shall give you everlasting rest… for the everlasting light shall shine upon you for evermore” (2 Esdras 2:34–35, King James Version). The practice of praying for the dead itself rests on Scripture, where Judas Maccabeus offers sacrifice for fallen soldiers, “that they might be delivered from sin” (2 Maccabees 12:46), and on the unbroken practice of the Church (CCC 1032).

Over the centuries the verse became a stand-alone prayer. In the Office of the Dead it replaces the “Glory Be” at the end of each psalm, and the faithful began to say it on its own after meals, after the Rosary and at the graveside.

What the words mean

• “Eternal rest” is not idleness but the peace of God, the Sabbath rest promised to God’s people (Hebrews 4:9–10).
• “Perpetual light” is the light of God’s face, the light of the heavenly Jerusalem that “hath no need of the sun, nor of the moon… for the glory of God hath enlightened it” (Revelation 21:23, Douay-Rheims). It recalls the baptismal candle lit from the Easter candle on the day each Christian was baptized.
• “Through the mercy of God” reminds us that no one enters heaven by their own merits. We do not pray because we doubt God’s mercy, but because we trust it.
• “All the faithful departed” extends our prayer to everyone who died in Christ, including the forgotten.

The indulgence for praying Eternal Rest

The current Enchiridion of Indulgences grants a partial indulgence, applicable only to the souls in purgatory, to the faithful who devoutly pray the Requiem aeternam (grant 29 §2). Older prayer books list a specific number of days; those numbers were abolished in 1967, but the Church still encourages the prayer and enriches it with an indulgence. During the first eight days of November, a plenary indulgence for the dead is also available by visiting a cemetery and praying for the dead (details on the All Souls Day page).

When Catholics pray the Eternal Rest prayer

• At the moment of hearing of a death, and at the wake and funeral.
• After grace after meals, a custom in many Catholic homes: “…and may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.”
• After each decade of a Rosary offered for the dead. See how to pray the Rosary for the dead.
• When passing a cemetery or a church, quietly or under your breath.
• On anniversaries of a death and on the deceased person’s birthday.
• Every day in November, the month the Church dedicates to the Holy Souls, and especially on All Souls Day.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Eternal Rest prayer in the Bible?

The exact prayer is not, but its words echo 2 Esdras 2:34–35, and prayer for the dead is found in 2 Maccabees 12:38–46. The prayer itself comes from the Church’s liturgy for the dead.

What is the response to “Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord”?

When it is prayed as a dialogue, the leader says “Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,” and everyone answers “And let perpetual light shine upon them.” Then the leader says “May they rest in peace” and all answer “Amen.”

Is it “grant unto them” or “grant unto him”?

Both are correct. Use them for all the dead or for a group, him or her for one person. In Latin the singular is dona ei and requiescat; the plural is dona eis and requiescant.

Can I pray the Eternal Rest prayer for a non-Catholic or a non-Christian?

Yes. We entrust every person who has died to the mercy of God, who alone judges the heart. The Church’s Eucharistic Prayers themselves pray for “all who have died in your mercy.”

Is the Eternal Rest prayer the same as the St. Gertrude prayer?

No. The St. Gertrude prayer offers the Precious Blood of Jesus for the souls in purgatory. Many people pray both. See the St. Gertrude prayer.

What does R.I.P. stand for?

Requiescat in pace, Latin for “may he (or she) rest in peace,” the final line of the Eternal Rest prayer for one person.

More prayers for the dead

• Gregorian Masses
• Death anniversary prayer
• Novena for the dead
• Rosary for the dead
• Catholic prayers for the dead
• Prayers for deceased loved ones
• Prayers for the souls in purgatory
• St. Gertrude prayer
• Prayers of the Faithful for a Catholic funeral
• How to have a Mass offered for someone who has died

Sources

• Missale Romanum, Missa pro defunctis, Introit
• Apostolic Penitentiary, Enchiridion of Indulgences (1999), grant 29
• Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1030–1032
• 2 Esdras 2:34–35; 2 Maccabees 12:38–46; Revelation 21:23