Catholic Cemeteries to host outdoor rosary and prayer services on Nov. 2

Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Chicago will host Cemetery Sunday outdoor rosary and prayer services at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 2, in observance of All Saints’ Day, which is Nov. 1, and All Souls’ Day, which is Nov. 2. The services will be held at 17 cemetery locations.

Guests are welcome to bring their own chairs as seating will not be provided for the 30-minute services. Upon arrival, visitors will follow signs directing them to the location of the prayer service. Cemetery personnel will be available to answer questions and to assist visitors in finding grave locations.

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 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.

“On All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day we honor the saints who inspire us by their example and pray for our loved ones who have gone before us, trusting in God’s mercy,” said Bishop Lawrence J. Sullivan, 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.

Catholic Cemeteries manages 47 cemeteries within Cook and Lake counties for the Archdiocese of Chicago. The history of Catholic Cemeteries in the Archdiocese of Chicago actually predates establishment of the diocese. The first Catholic cemeteries were churchyard cemeteries of parishes in existence before the diocese was formed. Some of these cemeteries, which are still operating today, were Catholic burial grounds 25 years before the opening of Calvary Cemetery, the oldest diocesan cemetery, in 1859. More information about Catholic Cemeteries is available at CatholicCemeteriesChicago.org.