Think of our departed loved ones as enfolded in Christ’s light, Pope preaches at All Souls’ Day Mass
November 03, 2025
On All Souls’ Day, Pope Leo celebrated an afternoon Mass at the Cemetery of Verano in Rome (video).
“Dear brothers and sisters, even as our sorrow for those no longer among us remains etched in our hearts, let us entrust ourselves to the hope that does not disappoint (cf. Rom 5:5),” Pope Leo preached. “Let us fix our gaze upon the Risen Christ and think of our departed loved ones as enfolded in his light. Let us allow the Lord’s promise of eternal life to resound in our hearts.”
“The Lord awaits us, and when we finally meet him at the end of our earthly journey, we shall rejoice with him and with our loved ones who have gone before us,” he concluded. “May this promise sustain us, dry our tears, and raise our gaze upwards toward the hope for the future that never fades.”
Earlier, during his midday Angelus address, Pope Leo XIV told pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square that All Souls’ Day “is a day that challenges the human memory, so precious and yet so fragile” (video).
“Without the memory of Jesus—of his life, death and resurrection—the immense treasure of daily life risks being forgotten,” Pope Leo continued. “In the mind of Jesus, however, even those whom no one remembers, or whom history seems to have erased, always remain in their infinite dignity ... For this reason, Christians always remember the deceased in every Eucharist, and still today ask that those dear to them be remembered in the Eucharistic Prayer.”
The Pope concluded:
May visiting the cemetery, where silence interrupts the hustle and bustle of life, invite us all to remember and to wait in hope. As we say in the Creed: “I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.” Let us commemorate, therefore, the future, for we are not enclosed in the past or in sentimental tears of nostalgia. Neither are we sealed within the present, as in a tomb.
May the familiar voice of Jesus reach us, and reach everyone, because it is the only one that comes from the future. May he call us by name, prepare a place for us, free us from that sense of helplessness that tempts us to give up on life. May Mary, the woman of Holy Saturday, teach us once again to hope.
For all current news, visit our News home page.
Further information:
- Angelus (Dicastery for Communication - Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 11/2/25)
- Holy Mass - Commemoration of all the Faithful departed (Dicastery for Communication - Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 11/2/25)
All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a current donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!
