Allhallowtide

lisacatholicprinti
Oct 31, 2025
2 min read

Octave + November 1-8

To gain a plenary indulgence for the dead during the Octave of Allhallowtide (November 1-8), a Catholic must devoutly visit a cemetery and pray for the departed, while also fulfilling four conditions: being in the state of grace, having complete detachment from sin, making a sacramental confession, and receiving Holy Communion and praying for the Pope's intentions.

Octave Activities

visit a cemetery any (or every) day of the Octave of All Saints and praying for the Holy Souls in purgatory.

This doesn't need to be a long prayer. My family and I often stay in the vehicle. This can take just a few minutes. You can pray a decade of the Rosary, or you can do a longer stations of the cross for the Holy Souls in purgatory. The Way of the Cross for the Holy Souls in Purgatory

After receiving communion that day, recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be … add the following to the end: “Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.”

Many Catholics may be unaware that they can obtain not one but eight plenary indulgences for departed souls in the first week of November. It is important to note that Holy Communion needs to be received (each time) in a state of grace before reciting prayers in the cemetery in order to obtain the indulgences.

For centuries, the Catholic Church widely observed All Saints’ Day (Nov. 1) as an octave, extending the holy celebration to eight days.

The observance was established by Pope Sixtus IV in the 15th century and demoted in the liturgical calendar around the middle of the 20th century, although some Catholics still mark the eight-day observance.

Notably, the Church itself still indirectly acknowledges the ancient eight-day octave in its granting of plenary indulgences for the first week of November.

What is a plenary indulgence?

A plenary indulgence is a grace granted by the Catholic Church through the merits of Jesus Christ to remove the temporal punishment due to sin.

It is not a forgiveness of sin but the remission of punishment for sins already forgiven. It may apply either to oneself or to souls already in purgatory.

In order to obtain a plenary indulgence the faithful must — in addition to being in the state of grace — both have the interior disposition of complete detachment from sin (even venial sin), have sacramentally confessed their sins and received the Eucharist (either within or outside of Mass), and must pray for the intentions of the Holy Father.

Indulgences may be applied to the living or the dead. (CCC 1471)