Visiting a cemetery on All Souls’ Day? Here are some recommendations

A grave marker in the Meadows of St. Kateri, the natural burial section at St. Michael the Archangel Cemetery in the Archdiocese of Chicago / Credit: Archdiocese of Chicago

Puebla, Mexico, Nov 2, 2024 / 04:00 am (CNA).

As part of commemorating the faithful departed on All Souls’ Day, Nov. 2 — traditionally known in countries like Mexico as the Day of the Dead — it’s common for people to go to cemeteries to spend time at the graves of their loved ones.

In Mexico, families typically visit the graves of their loved ones to clean them, light candles, and bring food, drinks, and objects that the deceased enjoyed in life. Many people also bring flowers and, in some cases, even hire musicians to pay tribute to their deceased.

Father Vicente Eliamar Vega Carrales, head of life ministry for the Diocese of Saltillo in the Mexican state of Coahuila, said in an interview with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, that these days “prayer for the faithful departed” is what is most important.

Vega emphasized the value of visiting the final resting place of loved ones, since “it helps us meditate on our own death” and because “it can help us pray more intensely for the faithful departed.”

For All Souls’ Day, the priest especially recommended offering Masses, prayers, the rosary, sacrifices, alms, and good works on behalf of “the souls of our loved ones and all the souls in purgatory.”

This, he pointed out, “is what is authentically Christian and offers a true benefit to those who have died.”

The priest also noted that a plenary indulgence can be obtained for the soul of a loved one, family member, or friend.

‘A time to express sorrow’

Laura Vanessa Villafán Velázquez, a consulting psychologist at the Listening Center located in the Plaza Mariana of the Guadalupe Basilica in Mexico City, shared in the weekly publication Desde la Fe (From the Viewpoint of Faith) of the Archdiocese of Mexico that the tradition of visiting the graves of the deceased “allows us to make the pain of our loss more bearable, and even able to adjust to it.” 

She noted that this tradition offers “a time to connect with one’s spiritual life and with prayer.”

The expert assured that “it’s healthy to continue visiting our dead at their graves,” since this practice “allows us to understand death, our losses, and gives a different meaning to our lives.”

Finally, Villafán pointed out that mourning is a process that varies with each loss and that relying on commemorations such as the Day of the Dead “are actions that, as mourners, will help us to keep the memory of our dead forever and in a different way, without pain.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.