Editing All Souls' Day (section)

====History====
In [[Western Christianity]],  there is ample evidence of the custom of praying for the dead in the inscriptions of the [[catacomb]]s, with their constant prayers for the peace of the souls of the departed and in the early liturgies, which commonly contain commemorations of the dead. Tertullian, Cyprian and other early Western Fathers witness to the regular practice of praying for the dead among the early Christians.{{sfn|Cross|Livingstone|2005|p=459}}

In the sixth century, it was customary in Benedictine monasteries to hold a commemoration of the deceased members at Whitsuntide. In the time of [[St. Isidore of Seville]] (d. 636) who lived in what is today Spain, the Monday after Pentecost was designated to remember the deceased. At the beginning of the ninth century, Abbot [[Eigil of Fulda]] set 17 December as commemoration of all deceased in part of what is today Germany.{{sfn|MacDonald|1967|p=119}}

According to [[Widukind of Corvey]] (c. 975), there also existed a ceremony praying for the dead on 1 October in Saxony.{{sfn|Mershman|1907}} But it was the day after [[All Saints' Day]] that Saint [[Odilo of Cluny]] chose when in the 11th century he instituted for all the monasteries dependent on the [[Abbey of Cluny]] an annual commemoration of all the faithful departed, to be observed with alms, prayers, and sacrifices for the relief of the suffering souls in purgatory. Odilo decreed that those requesting a Mass be offered for the departed should make an offering for the poor, thus linking almsgiving with fasting and prayer for the dead.{{sfn|Butler|1990|p=12}}

The 2 November date and customs spread from the Cluniac monasteries to other Benedictine monasteries and thence to the Western Church in general.{{sfn|McNamara|2013}} The [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Liège|Diocese of Liège]] was the first diocese to adopt the practice under [[Notker of Liège|Bishop Notger]] (d. 1008).{{sfn|Mershman|1907}} 2 November was adopted in Italy and Rome in the thirteenth century.{{sfn|MacDonald|1967|p=119}}

In the 15th century the [[Dominican Order|Dominican]]s instituted a custom of each priest offering three Masses on the Feast of All Souls. During World War I, given the great number of war dead and the many destroyed churches where Mass could no longer be said, [[Pope Benedict XV]], granted all priests the privilege of offering three Masses on All Souls' Day.{{sfn|Saunders|2003}}