Chicago Catholic Cemeteries Host Outdoor Services Sunday For All Saint's Day And All Soul's Day

CHICAGO — Chicago-area Catholic Cemeteries will hold outdoor rosary and prayer services on Sunday, Nov. 2, in observance of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day.

Services will be held at 17 cemetery locations throughout Cook and Lake County (IL) starting at 2 p.m. Sunday. Guests are welcome to bring their own chairs, as seating will not be provided. The service is expected to last 30 minutes.

Upon arrival, visitors will follow signs directing them to the location of the prayer service. Cemetery staff will be available to answer questions and assist visitors in finding grave locations. Please also note that clocks will be turned back one hour.

Each cemetery will have a digital booklet sharing the names of those buried in the cemeteries from Oct. 15, 2024 through Oct. 15, 2025. Families and friends can also sign a digital memorial remembrance book to include their deceased loved one’s name and a special message so they can be remembered in daily prayers throughout the coming year.

All Saint’s Day commemorates all the saints of the church, both known and unknown, who have attained heaven. It is celebrated on November 1 in western churches.
On November 2, Catholics celebrate a Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, also known as All Souls' Day.

“On All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day we honor the saints who inspire us by their example and pray for our loved, Bishop Lawrence J. Sullivan said in a news release, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Chicago. “These days invite us to draw closer to Christ and to find hope and comfort in the promise of eternal life.”

Participating cemeteries including:

• All Saints Catholic Cemetery, Des Plaines
• Ascension Catholic Cemetery, Libertyville
• Assumption Catholic Cemetery, Glenwood
• Calvary Catholic Cemetery, Evanston
• Good Shepherd Catholic Cemetery, Orland Park
• Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery, Calumet City
• Holy Sepulchre Catholic Cemetery, Alsip
• Maryhill Catholic Cemetery, Niles
• Mount Olivet Catholic Cemetery, Chicago
• Queen of Heaven Catholic Cemetery, Hillside
• Resurrection Catholic Cemetery, Justice
• St. Adalbert Catholic Cemetery, Niles
• St. Benedict Catholic Cemetery, Crestwood
• St. Casimir Catholic Cemetery, Chicago
• St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery, River Grove
• St. Mary Catholic Cemetery, Evergreen Park
• St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Cemetery, Palatine

In 1978, the National Catholic Cemetery Conference proposed that Cemetery Sunday be observed on the first Sunday in November as a day set aside to pray for the deceased and visit the graves of loved ones.