Catholics have traditionally dedicated the month of November to praying for the dead, asking the Lord to hasten the acceptance of our departed loved ones into the glory of heaven. Last year, I wrote this brief article explaining why Catholics pray for the dead.

Among the various practices that the Church encourages for the dead is that of visiting cemeteries. Pope St. John Paul II said, for example:

It is an important obligation to pray for the dead, because even if they have died in grace and in God's friendship, they may still need final purification in order to enter the joy of Heaven (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1030). Prayer for the dead is expressed in various ways, one of which is also visiting the cemeteries. Pausing in these sacred places becomes an ideal occasion to reflect on the meaning of earthly life and at the same time to nourish hope in the blessed eternity of Paradise (Angelus, 2 November 2003).

For most of us, visiting a cemetery is a unique experience: In no other place are we more obviously confronted with both the truth of our own mortality and the memory of those who have already departed this earthly life. Each etched marble tombstone memorializes someone else’s past and foreshadows our own future.

From November 1 to 8 every year - the days surrounding All Souls Day - the Church offers a plenary indulgence to all who “who devoutly visit a cemetery and pray, even if only mentally, for the departed.” As this link explains, a plenary indulgence is the complete remission of the punishment due to venial sins, either for ourselves or for someone who has died. Obtaining an indulgence requires that we go to Confession, receive Holy Communion, be detached from our own sin, pray for the Pope’s intentions, and perform the indulgenced act (e.g., visiting a cemetery and praying for the dead).

During these first days of November, I encourage you to take some time to stop by a cemetery to pray for your family members and friends who have died, commending them to God’s mercy. As a genealogy enthusiast, I have become quite familiar with a website called https://www.findagrave.com/, which allows you to search cemeteries around the world to find where your ancestors (or others) are buried. If you don’t know where your grandparents or others were buried, you may be able to figure it out at findagrave.com. If you’re unable to visit the cemetery where your loved one is buried – perhaps because it's far away – know that you can visit any cemetery to obtain a plenary indulgence for any person who has died.