Feast Days from Monday 2nd November to Sunday 8th

The main feast days are this week:

2nd November - All Souls Day

3rd November - St Martin de Porres

4th November - St Charles Borromeo

2nd of November - ALL SOULS DAY

All Souls Day is remembered on the 2nd of November but also the whole month of November is dedicated to praying particularly for the Holy Souls in Purgatory. It is a time to visit our loved ones at the cemetery, pray for them, bless their graves with holy water or light a blessed candle, for which an indulgence can be gained. We can also add a special prayer for the Holy Souls every day during November. It can be as simple as,

"Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon them, may they rest in peace. Amen."

Or maybe one of the following prayers. can be adopted by the family throughout this month.

Here is an explanation for children about the feast of All Souls. HT: Intercessories Family Ministry

An explanation for older children. HT: Magnificat

Praying for the Dead and gaining Indulgences for the Holy Souls on All Souls Day and in the whole month of November, written by Jenn G Miller

I particularly love this month-long display to set up in the home for the family, reminding us of the Church Triumphant (All Saints) Church Suffering (All Souls) and the Church Militant (The faithful on earth) and how they relate to each other. HT: Jennifer at Wildflowers and Marbles

Another great craft for the children in the month of November, an All Souls Rememberance Tree HT: Mozart and MudPies

Here is a lovely mantle display set up to remember our loved ones through the month of November. Here is Charlotte's All Souls display for this year, with lovely, closeup photos. HT: Charlotte at Waltzing Matilda

Here is my craft so as to have a visual reminder of those we are praying for in November.

Here is our poster to remind us of the Holy Souls we are specifically praying for in November. Click here, to see how it is made.

Here is our November craft, inspired by Jen's craft idea above (from Wildflowers and Marbles) This is a visual reminder to the children of the Mystical Body of Christ and how the Holy Souls are helpless and need our prayers and sacrifices. It may look complicated but it is an easy craft and I have all the images uploaded for others to use at my blog.

The following four All Souls recipes are from Catholic Cuisine:

Soul Cakes

Gluten Free Pineapple Soul 'Cup' Cakes

Pan de Muertos "Bread of the Dead"

Bones of Eliseus

Reading books about the souls in purgatory is really important in order to understand just how effectively we assist the Holy Souls and then how they come to our aid as powerfully as any canonized saint in return. Their graitude towards our prayerful alms is never forgotten. Children really enjoy these stories and will grow in love and understanding for this beautiful devotion of assisting the Holy Souls.

I highly recommend this children's picture book for the month of Holy Souls. It is called, Father Phillip Tells a Ghost Story. In this book the children will understand what a Holy Soul is, and the importance of praying for them. It shares many stories about the Holy Souls that the children will enjoy very much.

Mary Fabyan Windeatt's novel on the life of Saint John Masias is a lovely story for older children. St John was a great champion for the Holy Souls. On the back cover it has this to say:

"This lovely saints book tell how John Masias came from Spain to the New World, how he was fired from a job because of his poor education, how he went on miraculous travels, how he fought the Devil, and how he freed over a million souls from Purgatory."

Here are some good books on Purgatory for adults, but I have used these as read-alouds for my children in the past, the one I particularly recommend for that is Purgatory by Fr Schouppe.




Charity for the Suffering Souls



This is a small booklet called, How to Avoid Purgatory



Purgatory by Father Faber



Purgatory by Father Schouppe





Stories about Purgatory

3rd of November - ST MARTIN DE PORRES

A biography on the life of St Martin de Porres for children. HT: Intercessories Family Ministry

A biography for older children HT: Magnificat

A colouring page of St Martin de Porres HT: Good Shepherd Online

A colouring page/paper doll HT: Paper Dali

How about making some yummy St Martin's Mice? HT: Catholic Cuisine

Or some cute St Martin and Mice Cupcakes? HT: Catholic Cuisine


A lovely little book written by Father Lovasik on the life of Saint Martin de Porres.



This is a delightful picture book and I highly recommend it. It is called The Pied Piper for Peru.




A great novel for older children on the life of Saint Martin de Porres as only Mary Fabyan Windeatt can write it!








Saint Martin de Porres and the Mice is a lovely hardback book put out by Neumann Press and it comes from their "Saints and Friendly Beasts" Series.



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4th of November - ST CHARLES BORROMEO

A biography of St Charles Borromeo for children. HT: Intercessories Family Ministry

A biography for older children HT: Magnificat

St Charles had a speech defect when he was young and had a tendency to speak fast because of it. He worked hard at overcoming it. He was a great orator and spoke the truths of God so well, that he was greatly acclaimed. He is a great patron for children who struggle with similar speech difficulties.

St Charles enjoyed the game of chess, for children who enjoy the game as well, it's a good day to play and remember this saint.