All Souls Day, celebrated on Nov. 2, is a feast day that may not draw much attention. It is an opportunity to pray for the souls of the departed who are in purgatory.
This year, it fell on a Sunday, providing more exposure. At the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, a rare candlelight Mass was celebrated at 5 p.m. by Father Damian Ference, diocesan vicar for evangelization and cathedral parochial vicar. Concelebrating were Father Joe Mamich, cathedral pastor, and Father Eric Garris, diocesan vocations director.
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As people entered the church, they received a slender white candle. Lights were on until the congregation was seated and servers traveled through the church helping people to light their candles. Once the candles were lit, the lights were turned off and in the darkness, the celebrants and servers processed in. The altar was surrounded by candles, including tiny votive candles lining the edge.
The relics of St. Christina, a gift to the Diocese of Cleveland a century ago, rested in a glass case below the altar. Candles also surrounded the relics.
As he greeted the faithful, Father Ference noted the candle he was carrying was from Fatima, a remembrance of a recent pilgrimage he made there.
Father Ference spoke briefly about St. Christina, explaining not much is known about her life except that she was believed to be a teenager who died for her faith in about 300 A.D. Her bones were discovered in the catacombs outside Rome in the 18th century. He said she was verified as a martyr because she was buried with a small vial of her blood. When the relics were moved to Cleveland, the vial broke, but it remains with her bones, he said.
When we die, our lives stand before the judge, Father Ference said. “There can be some who lived poor lives and would be beyond remedy, who seem destined for hell,” he said, adding that most people may land in purgatory where they can encounter the fire of Christ’s love as it burns to free us.
“In the pain of this encounter, when our impurity lies open, is salvation. It sears through us to enable us to be totally with God. Tonight, we pray for those souls in purgatory … those souls that need our prayers to burn away what’s holding them back from God. That’s why what we’re doing tonight is so important. May we pray for them to be released from what’s holding them back from heaven,” Father Ference added.
After Mass, the lights were turned on again, and the faithful had an opportunity to venerate St. Christina’s relics. The relics later were returned to their normal resting place in the cathedral’s Resurrection Chapel. The faithful were encouraged to visit the chapel, the burial place for many previous diocesan bishops. Father Ference noted a plenary indulgence can be received for those who visit a cemetery on All Souls Day.
A reception in the cathedral courtyard followed the Mass.