Prayer for the Dead: All Souls' Day and praying for someone buried far away
Praying for the dead is one of the oldest things Catholics do. Nobody needs it explained when the person who died is theirs.
This page has the prayers in English and Spanish, what November 1 and 2 actually are, and how to pray them — including for someone buried in another country, which for a lot of families here is the whole problem.
- November 1 and November 2 are not the same day
- The prayers you'll need
- How to pray for someone who died
- Prayer for a family member who died
- Prayer for someone who died far from home
- Prayer for the souls in purgatory
- The novena: nine days to November 2
- Día de Muertos and the faith
- Visiting the cemetery, and the indulgence
- Frequently asked questions
November 1 and November 2 are not the same day
November 1 is All Saints' Day. It honors everyone already in heaven — the canonized saints and, just as much, the ordinary people who got there without anyone writing it down. In the United States it's a holy day of obligation in most years.
November 2 is All Souls' Day, el Día de los Fieles Difuntos. That's the day for praying for everyone who has died, that God complete whatever still needs completing in them.
The first is thanksgiving. The second is intercession. Most families keep them as one long remembrance across both days, which is fine.
The prayers you'll need
These devotions are built out of a few short prayers. If you heard them in Spanish growing up and never learned them in English, here are both. Pray in whichever language is actually yours.
The Sign of the Cross
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
En el nombre del Padre, y del Hijo, y del Espíritu Santo. Amén.
The Our Father
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
The Hail Mary
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
The Glory Be
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
A decade means one Our Father, ten Hail Marys and one Glory Be. If nobody ever explained that term to you, that's all it is.
How to pray for someone who died
Praying for someone who died, step by step
- Light a candle. Put out their photograph if you have one.
- Make the Sign of the Cross.
- Say their name out loud. The whole name.
- Pray the prayer for a family member who died, below.
- Pray one decade: one Our Father, ten Hail Marys, one Glory Be.
- Close with the responsory: Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.
- Make the Sign of the Cross again.
At the cemetery, do the same thing standing at the grave and skip the candle. If you only have a minute, the eternal rest prayer alone is complete.
Prayer for a family member who died
Lord, you have taken [name] from us, and we don't fully understand it. Receive them. Forgive whatever needs forgiving, and remember everything they did well that nobody saw. Give them the rest they didn't get much of here. And give us, who are still going, the grace to live in a way we'd be glad to meet them with. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. Amen.
Señor, te has llevado a [nombre] y no acabamos de entenderlo. Recíbelo. Perdona lo que haya que perdonar y recuerda todo lo bueno que hizo sin que nadie lo viera. Dale el descanso que aquí tuvo poco. Dales, Señor, el descanso eterno, y brille para ellos la luz perpetua. Amén.
Prayer for someone who died far from home
Lord, they were buried where I couldn't be. The distance that kept me from the funeral is still here, and the guilt with it. You were in that church and at that graveside when I couldn't be, and you are here with me now. Carry my prayer to where their body lies. Tell them, in whatever way the dead are told, that they were not forgotten — that I think about them on the drive to work and when I can't sleep. Give rest to them, and give me peace about what I couldn't do. Amen.
For someone buried in another country
- Set out their photograph, and if you have one, something from where they're buried.
- Make the Sign of the Cross and say their name.
- Pray the prayer for someone who died far away, below.
- One decade.
- Call whoever is there — a sibling, a cousin — and pray part of it with them on the phone. Praying at the same hour from two countries is still praying together.
- The responsory, and the Sign of the Cross.
If you can't travel to the grave, you have not failed them. The Church has never taught that prayer for the dead requires being in a particular place.
Prayer for the souls in purgatory
Merciful God, remember the souls who have no one left to pray for them: the ones whose families are gone, whose names are off the headstones, who died alone or among strangers or on the road. No one lights a candle for them. Let this prayer count for them. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. Amen.
The novena: nine days to November 2
To finish on All Souls' Day, start on October 25. Each day is the same shape — candle, name, prayer, one decade, the responsory — and many families give each day a different person: a parent, a grandparent, someone who died young, someone nobody else remembers.
Día de Muertos and the faith
If you grew up here, you may have been told by someone that the altar is pagan, or morbid, or worse. It's worth knowing what it actually is.
The ofrenda — the photographs, the bread, the marigolds, the food they liked — is not worship of the dead. It's remembrance, set in the same days the Church already devotes to the dead. Mexican families have kept it alongside Mass, not instead of Mass, for centuries. UNESCO recognized the tradition as intangible cultural heritage in 2008.
The one distinction worth keeping clear: Catholics pray for the dead and ask the saints to pray with them. They don't worship either. The altar is a photograph on a table, not an act of worship.
Visiting the cemetery, and the indulgence
From November 1 through 8, the Church attaches a plenary indulgence to visiting a cemetery and praying for the dead, under the usual conditions — confession, Communion, and prayer for the Pope's intentions. In plain terms, the Church is applying the fruits of Christ's mercy to the person you're praying for.
If there is no grave you can reach, say so to God and pray anyway. The conditions are about your disposition, not your travel.
Frequently asked questions
What is the prayer for the dead called?
The short one is the Eternal Rest prayer, or the responsory: "Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord…"
How many prayers do you say for a person who died?
There's no required number. The common pattern is the prayer plus one decade. Returning to it over nine days matters more than the count.
Do I need a candle or an altar?
No. They help you keep the habit; they aren't the prayer.
Can I pray for someone who wasn't Catholic?
Yes. You can pray for anyone who has died. God's mercy isn't limited to the people whose paperwork was in order.
What if I can't get to the grave?
Pray where you are. Nothing in Catholic teaching ties prayer for the dead to standing in a specific place.
What's the difference between All Saints and All Souls?
November 1 honors those already in heaven. November 2 prays for all who have died.
The Spanish version of this page is here. There is also a full rosario de ánimas in Spanish, the rosary Mexican families pray for the souls on November 2.