Pope Benedict XVI said on today’s feast of All Saints that everyone is called by Jesus to holiness in their own path toward sainthood.

The Pope also reflected on how today’s emphasis on the “communion of saints” continues into tomorrow’s commemoration of All Souls, which occurs every Nov. 2. This is the day when the Church prays for the souls in Purgatory.

All Souls Day, the Pope said, “helps us to remember our loved ones who have left us, and all the souls on their way to the fullness of life, just on the horizon of the heavenly Church.”

He noted how the custom of praying for the dead has existed since “the early days of the Christian faith,” and that these prayers are “not only useful but necessary,” since they “not only can help them” but also make their prayers for those on earth effective.

In many Catholic parts of the world, All Souls Day is marked by visiting the graves of loved ones. In several Spanish speaking countries – particularly Mexico – this custom is referred to as the “Day of the Dead.”

Pope Benedict concluded by entrusting both “our pilgrimage to the homeland of Heaven,” as well as that of our “dead brothers and sisters,” to the maternal intercession of the Virgin Mary, Queen of All Saints.