The Feast of All Souls: Prayers, Traditions, and Activities
The Last Judgment by Michelangelo The Sistine Chapel What is the Feast of All Souls? On All Souls' Day, Roman Catholics commemorate the faithful departed or those baptized Christians believed to be in purgatory. It is celebrated on November 2 unless this date falls on a Sunday. When this happens, All Souls' Day is celebrated on November 3. In the early days of Christianity, the names of the departed brethren were recorded on tablets. Later, in the sixth century,the Benedictine monasteries commemorated their deceased during Pentecost. In Spain there was such a day on Saturday before before Pentecost, at the time of St. Isidore (d. 636). In Germany there existed a ceremony of praying to the dead on October 1. St. Odilo of Cluny (d. 1048) ordered the commemoration of all the faithful departed to he held annually in the monasteries of his congregation. From there, it spread among the other congregations of the Benedictines and among the Carthusians to various dioceses. On this day...