November Prayers for the Deceased
Preparations are underway at Jasna Gora for the Solemnity of All Saints. A unique place for the "presence" of the saints and blessed here is the Chapel of the Holy Relics, which is open to pilgrims only once a year, on November 1. However, throughout the month, the faithful arriving at the Sanctuary will be able to visit the 17th-century crypts in the basement of the Chapel of Our Lady.
Prayer for the deceased at Jasna Gora
On the Feast of All Saints, Vespers of Remembrance with a procession will be held at Jasna Gora. During the service, which will be celebrated at 4:15 pm in the Basilica, the deceased Pauline fathers and brothers, confreres of the Order, as well as their relatives and benefactors of Jasna Gora will be recalled.
In the Order of St. Paul the First Hermit, November 3 is the commemoration of All the Deceased Pauline Fathers and Brothers, November 4 the monks pray for their deceased parents and relatives, and November 5 for friends and benefactors of Jasna Gora. On November 7, Pauline monks celebrate the liturgical remembrance of All Saints of the Order, although they do not have the practice of elevating confreres to the altars.
Historic crypts will be open to pilgrims
Throughout November, pilgrims will be able to visit one of the oldest places in the Sanctuary - the 17th-century crypts in the basement of the Chapel of Our Lady.There, in niches carved into the rock, 36 grave niches were used to bury Pauline fathers and brothers for six centuries.
- The opening of the Jasna Gora crypts will be a unique invitation for the faithful coming to Jasna Gora to enter this historic place and see what the burials of the white monks look like, but it is also an invitation to pray for all those who ministered in the Jasna Gora Sanctuary. It is to them that we owe the fact that we can pray in this unique place," said Father Michael Bortnik, spokesman for Jasna Gora. On the wall in front of the entrance to the crypts is a plaque listing the buried monks.Among those resting there are the superiors general of the Pauline Order and the priors.
Jasna Gora traces of saints and blesseds
About 130 saints and blesseds made pilgrimages to the Jasna Gora Sanctuary during their lifetime. A unique place of their "presence" is the Jasna Gora Chapel of Relics, which is open to pilgrims only once a year, on November 1. There are reliquaries both from centuries ago, e.g. St. Valentine, the patron saint of lovers, and contemporary ones, e.g. Blessed Charles de Foucauld, a French monk and hermit, Blessed Carlo Acutis, a 15-year-old Italian who used the Internet to evangelize, and St. John Paul II the Polish Pope.
- "Relics are important because they allow people to cross the threshold of the visible world and "touch" the eternal world. They remind us that the unity of people does not end at the moment of death. It is strengthened by the exchange of spiritual goods, which especially happens in the Eucharist, because then a person unites with the cult of the church by venerating All Saints," explained Father Marcin Ciechanowski adding that the Church, especially during this month, encourages us to call on the intercession of the saints and blessed, "and the veneration of relics can help us trust in their love."
At Jasna Gora, relics have been collected since the 17th century in a separate chapel (in a side aisle of the Basilica), where there are hundreds of reliquaries in special cabinets. It is located under the chapel now known as the Chapel of the Sacred Heart.
Throughout November, Mass with memorials for the dead is celebrated in the Basilica, Monday through Saturday at 7 a.m. and Sunday at 6:30 a.m.