Prayers for the Faithful Departed
These traditional prayers come from the Latin liturgy for the dead and have long appeared in Catholic missals and manuals of devotion. The first collect is known by its opening words, Fidelium Deus, and asks forgiveness for all departed servants of God. The second asks that the dead be freed from every bond of sin and raised among the saints and elect. Catholics pray them after a death, at funerals and anniversaries, during visits to cemeteries, and throughout November. They express the Church's enduring work of mercy toward the departed. The Catechism commends prayer for the dead and links it with the Eucharistic sacrifice and almsgiving (CCC 1032).
In Latin
Fidelium, Deus, omnium Conditor et Redemptor, animabus famulorum famularumque tuarum remissionem cunctorum tribue peccatorum: ut indulgentiam, quam semper optaverunt, piis supplicationibus consequantur. Qui vivis et regnas in saecula saeculorum. Amen. Absolve, quaesumus, Domine, animas famulorum famularumque tuarum ab omni vinculo delictorum: ut in resurrectionis gloria, inter Sanctos et electos tuos resuscitati respirent. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.
When to pray it: Pray these collects after a death, at funerals and anniversaries, when visiting a cemetery, or when remembering the faithful departed.