SEATTLE – People around the archdiocese are invited to submit the names of loved ones who have died of COVID-19, so they can be honored at a Mass of Remembrance November 8 at St. James Cathedral. 

The 7 p.m. Mass to “remember, mourn, and pray for all those we have lost to COVID-19,” especially those in the Archdiocese of Seattle, will be celebrated by Archbishop Paul D. Etienne. People are welcome to attend in person or participate via livestream. 

The cathedral will be filled with candlelight — 700 votive candles representing the more than 700,000 people who have died in the U.S. since the pandemic began, said Corinna Laughlin, the cathedral’s pastoral assistant for liturgy and the archdiocese’s liturgy consultant. 

A special Book of the Dead containing names of those who have died of COVID-19 will be carried in procession during the Mass. People can submit names for the book by using this link. So far, almost 200 names of family members, friends, parishioners, colleagues and others have been submitted. 

Music for the Mass of Remembrance will include traditional Gregorian chants for the dead, Laughlin said. A worship aid for those participating by livestream will be posted the day of the Mass. 

In-person Masses return to archdiocesan cemeteries on All Souls’ Day 

For the first time since the pandemic began, in-person Masses will be celebrated at the archdiocese’s Associated Catholic Cemeteries on All Souls’ Day, November 2. 

“We are looking forward to gathering together with members of our faith community at Mass,” said Richard Peterson, ACC president.  

Cemetery Masses “are at the center of the ministry provided by the Catholic cemeteries,” Peterson said. “We remember and give thanks for the salvation gained by Jesus, and we remember and give thanks for those loved ones buried at the sacred grounds of the Catholic cemeteries.” 

Masses on All Souls’ Day will be celebrated in English at 10:30 a.m. at: 

  • Holyrood Cemetery, Shoreline, with Archbishop Etienne presiding. 

  • Gethsemane Cemetery, Federal Way, with Bishop Eusebio Elizondo presiding. 

  • Calvary Cemetery, Seattle, with Father Scott Connolly presiding. 

Masses in Korean will be celebrated November 2 — 8:30 a.m. at Gethsemane and 1:30 p.m. at Holyrood. Vietnamese Masses in honor of All Souls’ Day will be celebrated on Saturday, November 6 — 10:30 a.m. at Gethsemane and 1 p.m. at Holyrood. 

Masses will be celebrated indoors, with seating arranged to provide additional space between rows; attendance will be limited to the number of chairs set up, Peterson said. Current COVID restrictions require face masks to be worn while attending Mass, he added. 

The archdiocesan cemeteries will resume their regularly scheduled monthly Masses in January 2022. Find the schedule here.