Bishops put up All Saints’ Day website for Filipinos abroad

Screen grab of www.undasonline.com

MANILA, Philippines – Filipinos abroad may still have a meaningful memorial for their departed loved ones back home by just going online.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines has re-launched its “Undas” website (www.undasonline.com), an online portal that accepts prayer requests for the departed from Filipinos across the world who may not be able to visit the graves of their deceased family members and other loved ones.

Visitors to the site just need to click the “Prayer Request” button and list down the names of their departed loved ones, according to an article posted on the CBCP Web site.

For their intentions, Masses will be offered from November 1 to 8 at the CBCP chapel in Intramuros, Manila.

In previous years, Undas Online received request for prayers for not less than 20,000 dead Filipino Catholics.

Now on its third year, the CBCP Media Office said it re-launched the project because of the positive feedback it continues to receive from overseas Filipino workers, according to Msgr. Pedro Quitorio III, CBCP Media Office director.

The website also provides prayers that the faithful may recite. They include a chaplet for the faithful departed, a novena for the souls in purgatory and a prayer for the sacrifice for the poor souls.

The website also offers some audio and video catechesis on the significance and liturgical meaning of the celebration of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.

An archive of videos of Pope Benedict XVI’s previous Angelus messages on the solemnity of the saints and homilies on the commemoration of souls as well as the late Pope John Paul II’s letters and homilies about the departed may also be watched on the website.

Father Francis Lucas, executive secretary of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Social Communications and Mass Media, stressed the importance of praying for the departed.

“It’s important we pray for them, especially those people who experienced sudden death. They need our prayers. Let’s offer Mass for them, it’s the best prayer,” he said.