Indulgence for a Visit to a Cemetery
Introduction:
Prayer for the souls in Purgatory is a requirement of Christian charity, and it helps us to call to mind our own mortality. This indulgence for a visit to a cemetery encourages us to spend even the briefest of moments in prayer for the dead. A good prayer to recite to earn the indulgence is Eternal Rest.
To obtain the plenary indulgence on November 1-November 8, we must receive Communion and sacramental Confession (and have no attachment to sin, even venial). Communion must be received each day we wish to gain the indulgence, but we only need to go to Confession once during the period. And, as with all plenary indulgences, we must pray for the intentions of the Holy Father (one Our Father and one Hail Mary) each day we perform the work of the indulgence.
Listing in the Enchiridion of Indulgences (1968):
13. Coemeterii visitatio
Type of Indulgence:
Plenary on November 1-November 8;
partial the rest of the year
Restrictions:
Applies only to the souls in Purgatory
The Work of the Indulgence:
An indulgence, applicable only to the Souls in Purgatory, is granted to the faithful, who devoutly visit a cemetery and pray, even if only mentally, for the departed. The indulgence is plenary each day from the 1st to the 8th of November; on other days of the year it is partial.
