The month of November is the time in the church’s Liturgical year when Catholics are called to pray for the Holy Souls in Purgatory.
Beginning with the feasts of All Saints and Holy Souls on the 1st and 2nd of November respectively, Catholics are encouraged to visit a cemetery and offer a Rosary for the dead.
The All Souls Day custom has been an annual tradition for the parishes of St Joseph Moorebank and St Christopher’s Holsworthy with dozens of parishioners gathering at Liverpool Cemetery to pray for their deceased family and friends in the early morning of 2 November.
Somascan Religious Fr Chris de Sousa CRS led the group in the recitation of the Holy Rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet while blessing the graves with incense as they processed through the grounds of the cemetery.
This year’s cemetery visit was particularly special for Moorebank parishioner Maria Saur as her whole family was able to attend due to All Souls Day falling on a weekend.
“My family and I look forward to the annual All Souls Day cemetery walk with Fr Chris each year,” said Maria Saur, whose father is buried at Liverpool cemetery.
“My father is buried there and having a priest and a group of parishioners walk around the cemetery saying prayers is a wonderful experience.
“Seeing Fr Chris bless and incense my father’s grave each year has become a much-needed emotional and spiritual tradition for me.”
For Maria’s husband Adam, his first time taking part in the All Souls Day tradition was moving and memorable.
“The experience of witnessing Fr Chris pray for the dead in the cemetery and specially when he prayed for my father-in-law made me feel emotional,” said Adam.
“It then reminded me of my own loved ones and I offered prayers also for their soul.”
To encourage the practice of praying for the dead, the church has granted a plenary indulgence that can be applied to the souls in purgatory for those who make a visit to a cemetery to pray for the dead from 1- 8 November.
This Plenary indulgence can be applied to a loved one or to a soul with no-one to pray for them. The indulgence can be gained on each day.
To obtain the indulgence one must visit a cemetery or a church where souls are buried, make a sacramental confession within seven days, receive Eucharistic communion and pray the Creed, Our Father, Hail Mary and a Glory be for the Holy Father’s intentions.
