Why do we observe All Souls’ Day?

All Souls’ Day, observed on November 2 in Catholic tradition, is dedicated to prayer for people who have died. It follows All Saints’ Day on November 1, but the two observances have distinct purposes.

All Saints’ Day celebrates the saints. All Souls’ Day turns particular attention to the faithful departed. The close placement of the two dates helps explain why remembrance and celebration can be associated with the same part of the calendar without referring to exactly the same observance.

In his 1998 letter to the Abbot of Cluny, Pope John Paul II recalled Saint Odilo’s encouragement to the monks of Cluny to offer special prayers for the dead after the feast of All Saints. The letter describes how that custom gradually spread beyond the abbey to the wider Church.

This account connects an individual monastic community with a much broader religious practice. It also shows how a tradition can become familiar in many places while retaining a history associated with a particular community.

The distinction is useful when reading about the season: references to All Saints and All Souls may appear together, but the names should not automatically be treated as interchangeable. The source linked below explains the relationship through the Church’s own account of the Cluny tradition.

Source: The Holy See