Your Family’s Communion of Saints
Share stories of some of the saintly qualities of your deceased family members and discuss the communion of saints. Set a few pictures out in a special place to remember to pray for the souls of the faithful departed in your family.
The Prayer of St. Gertrude for the Souls in Purgatory
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.
Find an image of your Parish’s patron saint. See if you can learn something about him or her from the image.
Learn
more about the saints your family members chose as their Confirmation saints.
Talk about why they chose that particular saint, and if they had other saints
they considered.
All Saints’ Day was founded in the early Middle Ages by Pope Gregory III and is a way to honor and remember all the Holy Saints together on one day. All Souls’ Day is a day to commemorate and pray for the souls who have died and are in purgatory. Until the 10th century, All Soul’s Day was observed during Easter; it was moved to November 2 in the 11th century.
© Copyright 2026 Archdiocese of Detroit. All rights reserved. Excerpts from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition © 1970, 1986, 1997, 1998, 2001 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, D.C. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
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