Incense for All Saints and All Souls: A Catholic Guide

Catholics burn incense on All Saints Day and All Souls Day for the same reason the Church uses it at Mass: the smoke is a picture of prayer rising to God. On November 1 you pray with the saints in heaven. On November 2 you pray for the dead. A few grains of resin on charcoal at a home altar, or beside the photograph of someone you have lost, is a simple way to keep both days at home.

In 2026, November 1 falls on a Sunday. All Saints takes the place of that Sunday's Mass, so Catholics attend as they would any Sunday, and All Souls follows on Monday, November 2.

Why incense belongs to these two feasts

The link is in Scripture. In the Book of Revelation (5:8 and 8:3-4), the elders before the throne hold golden bowls of incense, and the smoke rises before God with the prayers of the saints. All Saints is the feast of that heavenly worship: the day the Church honors every saint in heaven, the canonized ones and the countless others known only to God.

All Souls turns the same image toward those who have died and may still be in purgatory. The Church already incenses the body at a funeral, during the final commendation, out of respect for a body that was a temple of the Holy Spirit. Burning incense at home on November 2 carries that gesture into a family's own prayer.

A short history of All Saints and All Souls

Rome honored all the martyrs together long before November 1 was fixed. In the early 600s Pope Boniface IV dedicated the Pantheon to Our Lady and all the martyrs. By the ninth century, November 1 was the feast of All Saints across the Western Church.

All Souls came later. Around the year 998, Saint Odilo, abbot of Cluny, asked his monasteries to pray for all the faithful departed on the day after All Saints, and the custom spread from there. In 1915, during the First World War, Pope Benedict XV allowed every priest to offer three Masses on All Souls Day. The whole month of November is traditionally kept as a month of prayer for the dead.

How to pray with incense on November 1

Keep it simple. Light one quick-light charcoal disc in a ceramic burner, wait until a light grey ash covers it, and place a pinch of resin on top. A pea-sized amount fills a room. If you are new to charcoal, our guide on how to burn resin incense walks through each step.

A first evening of prayer: burner, charcoal, resin, a candle and a crucifix.

Many families choose the resin of a saint they already pray to. Milagros makes blends named for several of them:

• Saint Francis of Assisi: olibanum, myrrh and natural resins left uncolored. Strong, at 5 of 5.
• Saint Anthony: a soft rose blend at 2 of 5, good for a bedroom altar.
• Saint Rita of Cascia: honey, rose and a little clove, at 3 of 5.
• Saint Padre Pio: cinnamon with a mentholated lift, at 4 of 5.
• Saint Therese of Lisieux: olibanum, myrrh and rose petals. Read more in our Saint Therese guide.

Light the resin, then pray the Litany of the Saints, or simply name the saints your family loves, including the ones whose names your children carry. Children can take turns placing a grain of resin on the charcoal as each name is said.

How to pray for the dead on November 2

For All Souls, set up a small altar for the dead: photographs of family members who have died, a crucifix, a candle, and the burner set a safe distance to the side. Pray the Eternal Rest prayer for each person by name:

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.

Some families add a decade of the Rosary, or Psalm 130, the De Profundis ("Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord"), which the Church has prayed for the dead for centuries.

William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Le Jour des Morts (The Day of the Dead), 1859. Musée des Beaux-Arts, Bordeaux. Public domain.

Saint Michael has a particular place on this night. The offertory of the traditional Requiem Mass asks that Saint Michael, the standard-bearer, lead the souls of the faithful into the holy light. He is an archangel, with his own feast on September 29, but Catholics have called on him at the hour of death for centuries. That makes the Saint Michael prayer kit a natural choice for All Souls.

The All Souls indulgences

The Church grants two plenary indulgences in these days, both applicable only to the souls in purgatory:

• Visit a cemetery and pray for the dead, even silently, on any day from November 1 to 8. The indulgence can be gained once on each of those days.
• On All Souls Day, visit a church or oratory and pray the Our Father and the Creed.

Both require the usual conditions: sacramental confession, Holy Communion, prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father, and detachment from all sin. Incense at home does not replace the visit. It can be the family prayer you keep after it.

Finados and Día de Muertos: how other Catholic families keep these days

In Brazil, November 1 is Dia de Todos os Santos and November 2 is Dia de Finados, a national holiday. Families crowd the cemeteries with flowers, light candles (velas) on the graves, and go to Mass for their dead. Many Brazilian-American families keep the custom here with a candle and a photograph at home, and the Portuguese form of the Eternal Rest prayer:

Dai-lhes, Senhor, o eterno descanso, e a luz perpétua os ilumine. Descansem em paz. Amém.

In Mexico the same two days are Día de Muertos. Families build an ofrenda, a home altar with photographs, candles, marigolds and the foods the dead loved, and burn copal, a resin used in the Americas since before the Spanish arrived. For Catholic families the center of these days is still the Mass and prayer for the dead.

The French custom is close to the Brazilian one: on La Toussaint, families carry chrysanthemums to the graves. Émile Friant painted the scene in 1888, in the picture at the top of this page (La Toussaint, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Nancy; public domain). However your family keeps these days, the gesture underneath is the same: remembering the dead by name and commending them to God.

A few safety notes

Charcoal gets very hot. Use a burner made for charcoal, set it on a heat-safe surface away from curtains and photographs, and keep a window open. Lift charcoal only with tongs, and let the ash cool fully before you empty the burner. If you would rather swing a censer during the litany, read our guide to using a hand censer at home first.

Questions about incense for All Saints and All Souls

Is All Saints Day a holy day of obligation in 2026?

Yes, though this year it adds nothing new to the calendar. November 1, 2026 is a Sunday, and Sunday Mass is always required, so Catholics attend the Sunday Mass of All Saints. In the United States, when November 1 falls on a Saturday or a Monday the obligation to attend Mass is lifted. All Souls Day is not a holy day of obligation.

Is incense required for All Saints or All Souls at home?

No. It is an optional devotion. Prayer for the dead and honor of the saints do not depend on it, but many families find that the smoke and the scent help them pray.

How much resin should I use?

Start with a pea-sized pinch on one charcoal disc. Add a few more grains only when the smoke fades. Strong blends like Saint Francis (5 of 5) need less than soft ones like Saint Anthony (2 of 5).

Which incense is best for All Souls Day?

Any liturgical resin is appropriate. Saint Michael is a traditional choice because the Church asks him to lead the souls of the faithful into the holy light. Pure frankincense such as Olibanum Somalia is the simplest option; our frankincense guide explains how to burn it.

Do I need charcoal to burn resin incense?

Charcoal is the traditional method and the one that gives full, visible smoke. A tea light under a ceramic burner will warm the resin and release its scent, but with far less smoke. We tested both, and our guide on burning resin without charcoal shows the difference.

Is Day of the Dead a Catholic holiday?

Día de Muertos is a Mexican folk celebration that falls on the Catholic feasts of All Saints and All Souls and blends them with older customs. The Catholic part is prayer for the dead, Mass, and visits to the cemetery. Families who keep it as Catholics center the ofrenda on the crucifix and pray for their dead there.

Or browse:

• Pure resin incense, including the saint blends
• Incense kits with burner and charcoal
• Incense for Our Lady of Aparecida

Milagros incense is made in Aparecida, Brazil. Every order ships from Florida.