Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed

<p><strong>(All Souls' Day)</strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 4pt 0cm 0pt;">Since the early Church, Christians have prayed for the dead and by the 7th century, some monastic foundations reserved this day to pray for deceased members and benefactors. In 988, Odilo, abbot of the great monastery of Cluny in France, established the tradition of keeping, "with joyous affection, the memory of all the faithful departed who have lived from the beginning of the world until the end." By the 14th century, the commemoration had spread through Europe and was universally accepted in the Latin Church.©2011 <em>Living with Christ, </em>Novalis - Bayard Press Canada Inc., <strong>http://www.livingwithchrist.ca/</strong&gt;. Reprinted with permission.</p>