Remembering loved ones on All Souls' Day

All Souls' Day is traditionally a time for prayer and reflection. In his first Mass for the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed Pope Leo XIV recalled that 'Christian faith, founded upon Christ's Paschal mystery, helps us to experience our memories as more than just a recollection of the past but also, and above all, as hope for the future'.

Across the country, people are remembering those they've lost.

For one bereaved mother, the Holy Father's powerful words resonate with her journey of overwhelming grief to finding a sense of peace. Nina lost her beloved daughter Annabel to Covid in 2022, leaving her utterly bereft.

"Annabel was my greatest ally and kept me young and constantly challenged. Her 'why' questions started young and continued throughout her short life. Every Christmas she donated generously to her special charities for refugees and the homeless. However, she also thoroughly enjoyed life and enjoyed a glass of bubbly. She spoke 5 languages and worked for a UN agency absolutely refusing to admit it was anything special."

Through her faith, Nina now feels a sense of hope. Setting up a Candlelight Fund with aid agency CAFOD was part of her path to peace. The fund, whereby friends and family can make a donation to mark special moments such as a birthday or important milestone, felt like the perfect tribute to Annabel.

"We have survived. Somehow, we've come through it and achieved a kind of acceptance and peace; being an advocate of CAFOD has helped enormously. The Candlelight fund run by Maggie has shed warmth and light on our experience. So many mothers in poorer countries lose many children to conflict, hunger and disease. I'm grateful for organisations like CAFOD who are attempting to right this wrong. And through Annabel's Candlelight Fund, we want to be part of this change, in her memory.

"I can now feel gratitude for Annabel's 39 years with me and how the world benefitted from her presence. And now on that solemn feast of All Souls in November, when the weather's dark and cold and generally wet, I remind myself that she is there with them. I suspect she's brightened it up no end. She's humanised heaven for me."

LINK

CAFOD Candlelight Fund: https://cafod.org.uk/candlelight