In the Roman Catholic Church, the prayer Eternal Rest Grant Unto Them, O Lord is a prayer that is offered for deceased members of the Church. It is offered during the funeral services for the deceased, and also in memory of deceased persons. The Church maintains that this prayer grants a partial indulgence for the holy souls in purgatory. The text is taken in part from the Jewish apocalypse 2 Esdras, which is not accepted as scripture by Catholics. The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic Church (see terminology below) is the Christian Church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, currently Pope Benedict XVI. It traces its origins to the original Christian community founded by Jesus of Nazareth, with its traditions first established by the Twelve Apostles and... Mary Magdalene in prayer. ... For other uses, see Funeral (disambiguation). ... In Latin Catholic theology, an indulgence is the remission granted by the Church of the temporal punishment due to sins already forgiven by God. ... Purgatory commonly refers to a doctrine in the Roman Catholic Church, which posits that those who die in a state of grace undergo a purification in order to achieve the holiness necessary to enter heaven. ... This article describes some ethnic, historic, and cultural aspects of the Jewish identity; for a consideration of the Jewish religion, refer to the article Judaism. ... Look up Apocalypse in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In the Septuagint and for Eastern Orthodox Christians, 2 Esdras refers to the combination of Ezra and Nehemiah. ...

Current Form

The current form of the prayer is as follows,

P. Eternal rest grant unto them (him, her), O Lord.
R. And let perpetual light shine upon them (him, her).
P. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
R. Amen.

In keeping with modern church practice, this prayer is usually spoken in the vernacular. Look up Vernacular in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

The prayer in Latin is as follows:

'"Requiem aeternam dona ei (eis), Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei (eis). Requiescat (-ant) in pace. Amen." - "Eternal rest grant unto him/her (them), O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him/her (them). May he/she (they) rest in peace. Amen."