By Fr Cyprian Kenechukwu Nwabuere
All Saints’ Day is the feast that celebrates all the saints in Heaven — both those officially recognized by the Church and those who are unknown to us. It is a fixed solemnity, held every year on November 1.
- The next day, November 2, the Church observes the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, commonly called All Souls’ Day, when we pray for the souls of the just who are still being purified in Purgatory.
- Who goes to Purgatory?
Those who die in God’s grace and friendship, yet are not completely free from every attachment to sin, go through a final purification called Purgatory. Jesus urges us to “be perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). This perfection requires cleansing from every imperfection before we can enter God’s presence.
The Church calls this process Purgatory — “this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned” (CCC 1031).
- What is the biblical foundation for Purgatory?
The Church’s teaching comes from Scripture passages that speak of a cleansing fire before full union with God (see 1 Corinthians 3:15; 1 Peter 1:7). It is also based on the practice of praying for the dead, found in the Bible: “It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from their sins” (2 Maccabees 12:46).
- What is the difference between All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day?
In simple terms, All Saints’ Day honours those who are already in Heaven, while All Souls’ Day reminds us to pray for the holy souls in Purgatory who have not yet entered Heaven.
- Who is a saint?
A canonized saint is someone officially declared by the Church to be in Heaven after a careful process of investigation. This group includes the holy angels, the just people of the Old Testament (like Abraham, David, and the prophets), the holy men and women of the New Testament (Mary, Joseph, and the Apostles), those honored by the early Church in the Canon of the Mass, and those declared saints through the formal process of canonization.
- Are all souls in Heaven saints?
Yes. While the Church has formally declared some saints, there are many more who are in Heaven but have never been officially recognized. All Saints’ Day honors this larger, unnamed group of holy men and women.
- Can we pray to the saints?
Certainly. Just as we ask our family and friends on earth to pray for us, we can also ask those closest to God — the saints, angels, and especially the Blessed Virgin Mary — to intercede on our behalf. When we pray to the saints, we are asking for their prayers, not worshiping them.
- Is praying to the saints idolatry or necromancy?
No. It is not idolatry, because Catholics do not worship the saints. It is not necromancy, because we are not trying to summon the spirits of the dead. Catholics worship only the Triune God — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Worshiping anyone other than God is sinful.
- In theology, worship given to God alone is called latria. The honor shown to the saints is called dulia, and the special veneration given to the Blessed Virgin Mary is called hyperdulia. Thus, worship is reserved for God alone.
- All Saints’ Day is a Holy Day of Obligation, meaning Catholics are required to attend Mass and refrain from unnecessary work.
All Souls’ Day, though not obligatory, is still very important. Catholics are encouraged to attend Mass, pray for their departed loved ones, and offer sacrifices on their behalf.
- Should we pray for the dead?
Absolutely! The souls in Purgatory cannot pray for themselves; they depend on our prayers. We should never assume anyone went straight to Heaven. Even if a soul is already in Heaven or beyond our reach, our prayers remain meritorious and bring blessings to us who pray.
- Can the dead intercede for the living?
Yes. The just souls in Heaven — and even those being purified in Purgatory — can intercede for us. The faithful on earth (the Church Militant), those in Purgatory (the Church Suffering), and those in Heaven (the Church Triumphant) are all united in what we call the Communion of Saints. While the souls in Purgatory cannot help themselves, our prayers for them please God and gain us powerful intercessors.
- What are indulgences?
Indulgences are a share in the spiritual treasury of Christ and the saints, which the Church applies to remove the temporal punishment due to sin — that is, the after-effects of forgiven sin. As the Catechism teaches, indulgences belong to “the tribunal of mercy” (CCC 1471).
A Catholic can obtain an indulgence for himself or herself, or for the souls in Purgatory, but not for another living person.
- How can one obtain an indulgence on All Souls’ Day?
Throughout November, the Church offers special opportunities to gain plenary indulgences for the souls in Purgatory.
These include:
Visiting a church on All Souls’ Day (November 2) and praying at least the Creed and an Our Father for the departed, or
Visiting a cemetery between November 2 and 8 and praying for the dead there.
To obtain a plenary indulgence, one must:
- Be a Catholic in a state of grace;
- Go to confession (within about 20 days before or after);
- Receive Holy Communion (preferably on that day); and
- Pray for the intentions of the Holy Father.
If one is completely detached from all sin, the indulgence is plenary (full). If not, it is partial.
- What should Catholics do on All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day?
Check the schedule of Masses in your parish or chaplaincy and attend. Pray for the dead, visit cemeteries or graves, give alms, perform acts of penance, and ask priests to offer Masses for the faithful departed.
> “It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from their sins.” — 2 Maccabees 12:46
On DilexiTe
- A New Pontificate in Continuity with the Old
On the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, October 4 2025, Pope Leo XIV signed Dilexi te, completing the work begun by his predecessor, Pope Francis. In this act of humility and fidelity, the Holy Father situates his pontificate within a seamless line of love for the poor. “I am happy to make this document my own,” he writes, “adding some reflections and issuing it at the beginning of my pontificate.” The gesture underlines that the Church’s social mission is one and continuous (Dilexi te, §3).
- “I Have Loved You” — The Heartbeat of the Exhortation
The title, drawn from Revelation 3:9, resounds as Christ’s own voice to His Church: “I have loved you.” Pope Leo XIV reminds believers that the measure of the Church’s vitality is her capacity to love as Christ loves — especially the poor. “Love for the poor,” he insists, “is the evangelical hallmark of a Church faithful to the heart of God” (Dilexi te, §1–2).
- Love for the Poor Is Not Optional
For Pope Leo, care for the poor is not an appendage to the Gospel but its very core. “Faith that does not translate into love for the poor,” he warns, “remains incomplete and sterile.” The Exhortation calls the Church to embody mercy in concrete ways — in parishes, schools, dioceses, and families — wherever human suffering cries out for compassion (Dilexi te, §5–7).
- The Many Faces of Poverty
Dilexi te paints poverty not as a statistic but as a face. It includes those without food or shelter, the excluded, the voiceless, and the forgotten. “The many faces of the poor,” the Pope writes, “are those who lack material means, who are socially marginalized, who have no rights, no space, no freedom.” Each one, he says, “is a living icon of Christ crucified” (Dilexi te, §9).
- God’s Preferential Love for the Poor
Pope Leo clarifies that the Church’s “preferential option for the poor” is not ideological but theological. “This preference,” he explains, “does not indicate exclusivity but emphasizes God’s action, moved by compassion toward the weakness of humanity.” To love the poor, then, is to imitate the divine logic of mercy (Dilexi te, §16).
- Jesus, the Poor Messiah
Recalling the poverty of Bethlehem and Nazareth, the Pope affirms that Jesus Himself embraced the condition of the poor. “He who was rich became poor for our sake, so that poverty might no longer be humiliation but participation in God’s own way of loving.” To look upon the poor, he says, is to gaze upon Christ (Dilexi te, §18–19).
- Facing the Idols of Our Time
Dilexi te speaks boldly against modern idols — indifference, elitism, and economic absolutism. “Religion cannot be reduced to the private sphere,” Pope Leo asserts, “as if believers had no voice in matters that shape civil society.” He calls Christians to a courageous witness that disturbs the comfort of injustice (Dilexi te, §32–34).
- A Church of and for the Poor
The Holy Father envisions a Church not merely serving the poor but transformed by them. “On the wounded faces of the poor we see the suffering of Christ Himself.” In the poor, the Church finds not clients of charity but companions of grace. Such a Church, he says, “stands where humanity bleeds” (Dilexi te, §37–39).
- The Church’s Journey through History
Rooting his reflection in Catholic Social Teaching, Pope Leo recalls how the Church has always stood with the oppressed — from Rerum Novarum to Fratelli Tutti. “The Gospel of the poor,” he writes, “has been sung in every age by saints and prophets who refused to let charity grow cold.” The Exhortation situates today’s challenges within that enduring witness (Dilexi te, §45–46).
- Migrants and the Excluded: Christ at Our Door
The Pope speaks tenderly of migrants and refugees as bearers of hope. “Where the world sees threats, the Church sees children. Where walls are built, she builds bridges.” And he adds: “In every rejected migrant, it is Christ Himself who knocks at the door of the community.” This is not sentimentality but Gospel realism (Dilexi te, §54–56).
- Conversion: Personal and Structural
True reform, the Pope stresses, begins within but must reach outward. “Conversion of heart without conversion of structures remains incomplete.” Dilexi te challenges Christians to question lifestyles that sustain inequality and to seek new social models grounded in fraternity and justice (Dilexi te, §68–70).
- “Charity Can Change History” — A Call to Action
The Exhortation concludes with an appeal that is both gentle and firm: “Charity has the power to change reality; it is a genuine force for change in history.” Pope Leo XIV invites every believer — priest, religious, and layperson — to let love become deed and compassion become culture. “Let us not tire,” he writes, “of loving as He loved us” (Dilexi te, §120–122).
