Catholics pray for the souls in purgatory because the Church is one family in Christ, and the living can help those who died in God’s grace but still need to be purified before entering heaven. Here are nine prayers for the Holy Souls, from the shortest one-line prayer to a full family prayer, followed by what the Church actually teaches about purgatory and the practical ways you can help.
The simplest prayer of all is this one:
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May they rest in peace. Amen.
Nine prayers for the Holy Souls
1. Eternal Rest
The Church’s own prayer for the dead, taken from the Mass for the Dead. Full text, Latin and versions for one person: Eternal Rest prayer.
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.
2. The St. Gertrude prayer
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.
Before you share the card that promises 1,000 souls per recitation, read my note on the St. Gertrude prayer.
3. Psalm 130 (De Profundis)
The psalm the Church has prayed for the dead for centuries (Douay-Rheims, 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.
4. For the souls who have no one to pray for them
Lord Jesus, you know every soul you have created.
Have mercy on the souls in purgatory who are forgotten: those who died alone, those whose families no longer pray, those who died far from home, and those whose names no one remembers.
Let my small prayer reach them through your mercy, and bring them quickly into your light. Amen.
5. For a parent
O God, who hast commanded us to honor our father and our mother,
in thy mercy have pity on the soul of my father (mother), and forgive him (her) his (her) trespasses;
and make me to see him (her) again in the joy of everlasting brightness.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
6. For a spouse
Lord, you joined us in marriage and you have now called N. home before me.
Thank you for every year we shared. Forgive whatever in N. was not yet healed, complete your work of love, and bring him (her) into the peace of your kingdom.
Keep me faithful, and let us meet again where there is no more parting. Amen.
7. For a child who has died
Father of mercy, you gave us N. and you know our grief.
We entrust our child to your love, which is greater than ours.
Hold N. close to you, and give us the hope that sustains us until the day we are together again. Amen.
8. Offering the day for the Holy Souls
A morning prayer for November:
My God, I offer you all my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day for the souls in purgatory, especially those of my family and those who are most forgotten. Unite them to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass being offered throughout the world today. Amen.
9. A family prayer at the evening meal
Read the names of your family’s dead, and after each name everyone answers: “Eternal rest grant unto him (her), O Lord.” Then the leader concludes:
Lord God, keep all our dead in your care. As we share this meal, bring them to the banquet of your kingdom. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
What the Church teaches about purgatory
The Catechism explains purgatory in three short paragraphs:
- “All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven” (CCC 1030).
- Purgatory “is entirely different from the punishment of the damned” (CCC 1031). Every soul in purgatory is saved.
- “From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice… The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead” (CCC 1032).
The teaching rests on Scripture: Judas Maccabeus offered sacrifice for the dead, “that they might be delivered from sin” (2 Maccabees 12:46); St. Paul speaks of being “saved, yet so as by fire” (1 Corinthians 3:15); and Jesus speaks of sins that will not be forgiven “in this world, nor in the world to come” (Matthew 12:32), implying that some are. The early Christians wrote prayers for the dead on tombs, and St. Augustine’s mother Monica asked only that he “remember me at the altar of the Lord.”
Purgatory is best understood as the last stage of God’s healing love. Pope Benedict XVI wrote that the encounter with Christ “is the decisive act of judgement” and that “his gaze, the touch of his heart heals us through an undeniably painful transformation ‘as through fire'” (Spe Salvi 47). Our prayers are part of that love.
Practical ways to help the souls in purgatory
- Have a Mass offered for a particular person or for all the dead. The Mass is the most powerful prayer for the dead. See Mass intentions for the dead, or, for thirty consecutive Masses, Gregorian Masses.
- Gain indulgences. From November 1 to 8, a devout visit to a cemetery with prayer for the dead can gain a plenary indulgence for them each day, with the usual conditions (how it works).
- Pray the Rosary or the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for them.
- Give alms or do a work of mercy in a deceased person’s name.
- Offer your sufferings. A headache, a difficult day or a sleepless night can be united to Christ’s sufferings for the dead.
- Remember the anniversaries of deaths in your family with a Mass or a visit to the grave.
- Teach children to pray for their grandparents by name. A child’s prayer is never small.
Frequently asked questions
Why is November the month of the Holy Souls?
Because November begins with All Saints Day (November 1) and All Souls Day (November 2), Catholic devotion has long given the whole month to prayer for the dead. Many parishes keep a Book of the Dead near the altar all month. See All Souls Day.
Can the souls in purgatory pray for us?
Many saints and theologians, including St. Alphonsus Liguori, held that the souls in purgatory can pray for us, and many Catholics ask for their prayers. The Church has not defined the question, so it is a matter of pious opinion, not doctrine.
How long are souls in purgatory?
We do not know. Purgatory is not simply earthly time, and the Church has never taught a duration. That is why we keep praying for our dead, trusting that any prayer not needed by them is applied by God to others.
Can I pray for someone who might be in hell?
We never know with certainty that any particular person has been lost. The Church prays for all the dead and entrusts them to God’s mercy, and you may do the same.
What is the best prayer for the souls in purgatory?
The Mass. After the Mass, the Church’s own prayer, the Eternal Rest, is the simplest and most traditional.
Related pages
- Catholic prayers for the dead
- Prayers of the Faithful for All Souls Day
- Prayers of the Faithful for the souls in purgatory
- Mass intentions
More prayers
Sources
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1030–1032 and 1471–1479
- Benedict XVI, Spe Salvi 45–48
- Apostolic Penitentiary, Enchiridion of Indulgences (1999), grant 29
- 2 Maccabees 12:38–46; 1 Corinthians 3:11–15; St. Augustine, Confessions, Book IX