Caring for the Dead: My Dominican Fraternity's Apostolate
In times of sickness and bereavement, prayer remains the greatest source of consolation, comfort, and spiritual aid we can offer one another. Within the Order of Preachers, this commitment is more than a pious custom; the Rule of the Lay Fraternities of St. Dominic identifies offering suffrages (prayers and other spiritual offerings for the dead) as part of Dominican fraternity life. 1
On his deathbed, our founder, St. Dominic, consoled his grieving brethren with a promise: “Do not weep, for I shall be more useful to you after my death and I shall help you then more effectively than during my life."2 While those words speak directly to the intercessory power of the saints in glory, they also capture our Order's deep conviction that the bonds of charity are not severed by death. The Dominican mission to save souls extends beyond this life, uniting the Church Militant (the faithful living on earth) with the Church Suffering (those souls in Purgatory) and the Church Triumphant (the blessed in heaven).3
Our Fraternity’s Mission
Most Lay Dominican communities participate in apostolic work designed to advance the Order’s mission within the broader Church. While some chapters focus on promoting the Rosary, defending Catholic dogma in the public square, or serving the poor, our fraternity’s primary apostolate is praying for the dead. Locally, we fulfill this apostolate by defending and promoting prayer for the departed—teaching parishes and lay groups how to pray both the Rosary and the Office of the Dead (a special cycle of the Liturgy of the Hours prayed on behalf of the Holy Souls in Purgatory). We fulfill this mission in our own communal life by reciting the Office of the Dead at our monthly fraternity meetings and praying the Rosary in local cemeteries throughout November. We also instruct the faithful in traditional Catholic suffrages for the dead, especially by providing resources for requesting Gregorian Masses and praying the De Profundis (Psalm 130).4
How Did Our Fraternity Decide on This Apostolate?
Our apostolate of praying for the deceased grew out of an annual practice we participated in: praying the Rosary in local cemeteries during November. At one of our meetings, we set aside some time to discern what apostolate would work best for us. Then our formation director suggested that we make praying for the deceased not just a November activity, but an official apostolate we could do year-round.
So we began praying and studying. Over the next few months, we each took time individually to study and find resources on many topics related to dying, Purgatory, intercessory prayer, suffrages, and the Holy Souls. We each approached it from a different perspective. For example, some researched it from a historical perspective. Others researched it from a scriptural view. Still others focused on understanding what the saints and theologians throughout the ages taught about Purgatory.
Next, each member presented their findings at subsequent meetings. This gave us the chance to question, discuss, pray, and share the fruits of our contemplation among all of us. In the end, we had an official apostolate. Over the next year, we developed ways to put it into action and actually preach on praying for the deceased.
Personal Experience
In my opinion, one of the most powerful spiritual sayings ever written down by a saint is St. Benedict’s words, “And finally, never lose hope in God’s mercy."5
When our fraternity prays for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, I feel deeply united to God’s mercy and understand how He uses each of us as an instrument to aid souls on their journey towards heaven. When I think about approaching prayer for the dead, it helps to understand the parable of the Good Samaritan as an analogy.
Recall that the lawyer asked Jesus: “And who is my neighbor?” Then Jesus highlights the lack of action of the priest and the Levite, who left the wounded man on the side of the road and chose to pass by. The Samaritan had compassion and showed mercy. At the end of the parable, Jesus asks the lawyer, “Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” When the man replies, “The one who showed mercy on him,” Jesus commands him, “Go and do likewise."6 The true neighbor was the Samaritan who acted as God’s agent of mercy.
It is harder to visualize with our physical senses the impact we have on the souls in Purgatory because praying for the dead produces effects in a spiritual reality. We don’t see in this life how our prayers impact those who have died. Yet, if I may extend the analogy, we act as the Good Samaritan to our brothers and sisters who have died in friendship with God but still need purification. Our prayers are the bandages and oil for the wounds of the Holy Souls.
We perform a spiritual work of mercy when we offer suffrages for the dead. We don’t abandon those who have died on the side of the ‘spiritual road,’ and our prayers for them are bandages and oil during their purification. While the Church offers prayers for all the faithful departed, many souls have no one to pray for them specifically. This is the main reason for my fraternity’s apostolate. I can speak for all of us in my fraternity when I say that we are very grateful to the Lord for helping us discern our apostolate and giving us the grace to preach on praying for the Holy Souls.
1 Order of Preachers, The Rule of the Lay Fraternities of Saint Dominic, sec. II (“Life of the Fraternities”), no. 8 (Rome: Curia Generalizia, 2019), https://laici.op.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/09/Rule-of-the-LFSD-EN.pdf.
See also https://motherofmercychapter.com/Rules/Rule-English-2019.pdf.
2 Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd ed., no. 956.
See also Gianni Festa, O.P., “St. Dominic, Father of the Dominican Family: Chapter 9, Bologna 1221, the Last Days,” Giubileo degli 800 anni di San Domenico, accessed November 1, 2026, https://dominicus800.op.org/en/st-dominic/ which cites the Process of Canonization at Bologna, no. 8.
3 Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 954; nos. 1030–1032 for an explanation of Purgatory
4 Gregorian Masses: a series of 30 Masses celebrated on 30 consecutive days for the repose of the soul, imploring its release, a tradition begun by Pope St. Gregory the Great in the 6th century.
De Profundis: One of the seven Penitential Psalms (Psalm 130) expressing a soul’s cry out of the depths of sorrow and purification but placing trust in God’s mercy.
5 Benedict of Nursia, RB 1980: The Rule of St. Benedict in Latin and English with Notes, ed. Timothy Fry (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1981), chap. 4, v. 74, p. 187.
6 Luke 10:25-37, RSV-2CE.
Nicholas Foster made his Perpetual Profession as a Lay Dominican in 2020. He is President of the St. Catherine of Siena Fraternity in Carmel, IN. His Fraternity's Apostolate is teaching and preaching about and praying for the dead.
"I knew I was meant to be a Lay Dominican because of my undeniable attraction to the 4 pillars of the Dominican life, namely, prayer, study, community, and preaching. When I'd study the lives of Dominican Saints, it felt like a homing device in my heart was activated and leading me to proclaim the Gospel in my ordinary daily life and to seek and share the truth."