# Eternal Rest

> A short prayer to remember those who have died and entrust them to God's mercy, whenever we think of them.

- Source: Light of Saints, “Eternal Rest”, https://lightofsaints.com/en/prayers/eternal-rest
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Published: 2026-11-06

## Meaning

This prayer asks the Lord to grant eternal rest to those who have died and to let perpetual light shine upon them. We also pray for all who have died, that they may rest in God's peace.

## Prayer

_Traditional prayer of the Church._

### Eternal Rest

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

## Intentions & hopes

The faithful pray it for family, friends, and anyone who has died, and also for the departed whom no one prays for any longer. With this prayer we entrust them to God's mercy and hope that they may find peace with him.

## When & how to pray

- Pray it when you hear news of a death, at a wake or funeral home, at a burial, or when praying at a grave.
- You may say it silently when passing a cemetery or when you remember someone who has died.
- Many people add it after grace at meals, at the end of the Rosary, or after each mystery of the Rosary.
- Name the person you are praying for before you begin, then say the prayer calmly; you may repeat it three times.
- Pray it more often in November, especially on the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls' Day), November 2.

## Origins

The words of this prayer come from the opening antiphon (Introit) of the Mass for the dead. The Latin text is traced back to the apocryphal Fourth Book of Esdras (in modern Bibles: 2 Esdras 2:34-35), which speaks of eternal rest and everlasting light. The Introit adapts that passage rather than quoting it word for word. Scholars regard the first two chapters of that book as a later Christian addition. From the first words of this antiphon, Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, the Mass for the dead came to be known as the Requiem Mass.

From the very earliest times, Christians offered Mass for the dead. The use of the Fourth Book of Esdras in the Introit shows that this text dates from the sixth century at the latest. The Leonine Sacramentary already contains five sets of prayers for the dead, and the Gelasian Sacramentary thirteen. This Introit text may be the oldest part of the prayers of the Mass for the dead still in use; its exact date is unknown, but it appears in the early antiphonaries attributed to Saint Gregory.

The Catholic Encyclopedia mentions ancient testimonies to prayer that the dead may obtain 'rest': a Christian woman who asked every day for Mass to be offered for her husband, and the funeral orations of Saint Ambrose. These testimonies are presented as background to this Introit.

The Missal of Pope Pius V set Requiem aeternam as both the Introit and the Gradual of the Mass for the dead. The same Missal set the Dies irae as the Sequence and Lux aeterna as the Communion antiphon.

As a short prayer on its own, it is listed in the Enchiridion of Indulgences, which draws on the Apostolic Constitution Indulgentiarum Doctrina of Pope Paul VI (1967). The Church attaches a partial indulgence to praying it devoutly, and that indulgence can be applied only to the souls in purgatory.

_Edition note: Text: The rights holder named on the source. Checked word for word against the source on 2026-11-05._

## Sources

- [Eternal Rest - Prayers - Vatican News](https://www.vaticannews.va/en/prayers/eternal-rest.html) — Text taken from www.vaticannews.va
- [Prayer for the Poor Souls in Purgatory](https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/teachings/prayer-for-the-poor-souls-in-purgatory-163) — Latin text from www.ewtn.com
- [Requiem Mass](https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/requiem-mass) — Published by New Catholic Encyclopedia (via Encyclopedia.com)
- [Catholic Encyclopedia: Requiem Masses](https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12776d.htm) — Published by New Advent (Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913)
- [Masses of Requiem](https://www.catholic.com/encyclopedia/masses-of-requiem) — Published by Catholic Answers (reprint of the Catholic Encyclopedia)
- [[unofficial copy] Enchiridion of Indulgences: Norms and Grants](https://www.motherofmercychapter.com/Prayers/ENCHIRIDION%20OF%20INDULGENCES.pdf) — Published by Mother of Mercy Chapter (unofficial copy of the Vatican text)
- [Requiem](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Requiem) — Published by Wikipedia