Celebrating new life on All Souls Day

On All Souls Day we remember and pray for the eternal rest of our loved ones who have died, as well as those who have passed but have no one to pray for them.

Saying goodbye is always hard and often sad. The feast of All Souls’ Day gives us, as Catholics, the opportunity to remember and pray for the dead. This year, the day has weighted significance with so many people here in Australia, and around the world, having died of COVID-19. For many, the sadness of goodbye is compounded by pandemic restrictions that prevent the usual funeral services and final farewells.

As has been our tradition for the past 3 years, the Catholic Foundation invited the Living Faith Society to send in the names of their faithful departed, so that these could be placed in St Stephen’s Cathedral. The names were recorded on crosses, and priests throughout the day remembered these loved ones in their prayers. In this way, we celebrate that death is not the end for those who believe in Christ, but rather the beginning of eternal and unmitigated joy.