All Souls – also known as the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed – is kept in the church’s calendar at the same time of year as the feast of All Saints. Whereas All Saints is an opportunity to celebrate the great company of saints and to take encouragement from their example, All Souls is a more intimate celebration. It allows us to name before God those dear to us who have passed through the gate of death, and whom we remember with thanksgiving.
All Souls’ Day is a time when, having remembered the example of the saints in glory, we pray for those whom we have ‘loved, but see no longer’. During the day the cathedral is open for anyone to come and remember a loved one – lighting a candle, writing a prayer, or just simply being still in the holy space of the cathedral.
