Prayers for the dead
Artwork: Lodovico Carracci, “An Angel Frees the Souls of Purgatory.”
Eternal rest give unto him, O Lord, And let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. Amen. May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen.
About
Prayers for the sick, dying, dead, and the grace of a happy death are almost too numerous to count. Below is a small collection of old prayers on prayers specifically for the dead. More PDFs of prayers are provided at the bottom of the page.
Many of these prayers carry indulgences, under the usual conditions.
There are also purgatorial societies or confraternities whose sole purpose is to pray for the souls in Purgatory. For more information, consider contacting your local churches, diocese, or traditional orders to see if they have preexisting purgatorial soceties. For more information, see the burial customs page.
Blessed Be God
Callan, Fr. Charles, and Fr. John McHugh. Blessed Be God: A Complete Catholic Prayer Book. 1925. https://archive.org/details/blessed-be-god-a-complete-catholic-prayer-book/page/461/mode/1up.
Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord our God, that the souls of Thy servants and handmaidens, the memory of whom we keep with special reverence, and for whom we are bidden and are bound to pray, and the souls of all our benefactors, relatives and connections, and all the faithful, may rest in the bosom of Thy saints; and hereafter, in the resurrection from the dead, may please Thee in the land of the living. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
With God
Lasance, Francis Xavier. With God: A Book of Prayers and Reflections. New York: Benziger Bros, 1911. http://archive.org/details/withgodbookofpra00lasa.
O God, Whose property is ever to have mercy and to spare, we beseech Thee on behalf of the soul of Thy servant whom Thou hast called out of this world ; look upon him with pity and let him be conducted by the holy angels to paradise, his true country. Grant that he who believed in Thee and hoped in Thee may not be left to suffer the pains of the purgatorial fire, but may be admitted to eternal joys. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Our Lord, Who with Thee and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth world without end. Amen.
Our Father, Hail Mary.
V. Eternal rest give unto him, 0 Lord;
R. And let perpetual light shine upon him.
V. May he rest in peace.
R. Amen.
PDFs
See the PDF of prayers from Blessed Be God
See the PDF of prayers from A Manual of Prayers