Why do we pray for the dead?

St. Odilo, a Benedictine monk in the 10th century, instituted All Soul’s Day to follow All Saints Day, although we know that the dead were prayed for from the earliest days of Christianity.

Praying for the dead—think about what that act says about Christians. Why do Christians pray for the dead? We pray because we hope, and as Saint Paul says, “Hope does not disappoint.”

Our hope this day is that death is not the last word; that loved ones who have gone before us now dwell in the house of the Lord; and that, we, too, through our faithfulness, will pass from death into life.