The fall season in Michigan is one of the best with the leaves changing, apple orchards, pumpkin patches, sweater weather, and of course, Halloween. In the fall spirit, we visited two places of worship for the celebration of All Souls Day — a day to pray for the souls of deceased family members — which happens on November 2nd. This is the third and final day of Allhallowtide, which is preceded by All Hallows’ Eve (Halloween) and All Saints’ Day.

We attended Holy Sepulchre Catholic Cemetery where Archbishop of Detroit, Allen H. Vigneron, celebrated mass and a commissioning ceremony for the new members of the Archdiocese’s Confraternity for Holy Souls. This is a special prayer for the souls in purgatory who are unable to pray for themselves. The confraternity also prays the Rosary at funeral homes and attend the funerals of parishioners.

“Through the formation of Confraternity chapters in Families of Parishes throughout the Archdiocese of Detroit, I hope that the Church of Detroit will develop an active community of intercessors praying regularly for the souls in purgatory.” - The Most Reverend Allen H. Vigneron.

In attendance was also Robert Seelig, the CEO for Catholic Funeral and Cemetery Services (CFCS) — a non-profit organization founded in faith and dedicated to providing education, support, and resources during life’s most difficult moments. He offered his thoughts on the importance of this service as well as helped us understand the significance of Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.

That evening, we filmed at Holy Name Catholic Church with Msgr. John Zenz who offered a mass for his congregation in their beautiful sanctuary with a full choir accompanied by a variety of string instruments.

Our film, Detroit: The City of Faith will be shown on DPTV/PBS on March 22nd at 8:00pm.