Requiem Aeternam

About this prayer

Requiem Aeternam, "Eternal rest," is the Church's constant prayer for the souls of the faithful departed. Its words are drawn from the book of Esdras, "Let eternal rest be given to them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them," and they have given the Mass for the Dead its very name, the Requiem, after this opening word. The Church prays that the holy souls, cleansed in purgatory, may pass out of the shadow of death into the unfailing light of God.

It rests upon the ancient and consoling doctrine of the communion of saints: that the living may aid the dead by their prayers, their alms, and above all by the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The faithful add this prayer at the close of many devotions, and remember their dead above all in November, the month of the Holy Souls, and on All Souls' Day, the second of that month. Its versicle and response, "Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord," and "Let perpetual light shine upon them," echo through all the Church's prayers for the departed.