General admission, 9.30am – 4.00pm

Thursday 2 November is All Souls’ Day in the Christian calendar and this year York Minster will mark the date with a special day to remember those who have died.

We will be closed for sightseeing but open with free entry to welcome people into the cathedral who have been recently bereaved or people who simply want to remember loved ones who died many years ago.

A space will be created inside the Minster for people to sit quietly, to reflect, to pray and to light a candle for their dead. Minster clergy and bereavement counsellors from St Leonard’s Hospice will be available for those who need them.

Entry is free and no pre-booking is required.

Requiem Eucharist for All Souls’ Day, 5.30pm

The annual Requiem Eucharist for All Souls’ Day, at which we remember loved ones who have died, will take place at 5.30pm with Victoria’s Requiem performed by the Vicars Choral and Choral Scholars of the Choir of York Minster.

All are welcome, no booking required.

This service will also be livestreamed on our YouTube channel.

The day forms part of a Season of Remembrance at York Minster which includes the Feast of All Saints Day on Wednesday 1 November, the observation of the national two minutes’ silence on Saturday 11 November at 11am, and the annual service of Thanksgiving and Commemoration for Remembrance Sunday on 12 November.

York Minster’s Season of Remembrance

This year’s Season of Remembrance at York Minster will help us to engage with the extraordinary power of love, the grief and pain of bereavement and the opportunity to honour and to pay our respects to those who have died in past conflicts.

The Very Revd Dominic Barrington, Dean of York, said: “The pain of separation and loss, and the horrors of warfare, are no strangers to people across the globe, including in the city and diocese of York. The grief we experience at the death of friends or loved ones is very real, and can last a very long time, it is the call of the Church to help set this against the message of Christian hope contained in the Gospel.

“We are privileged and delighted at York Minster to offer services of remembrance, as well as the opportunity simply to come to the cathedral to pray, light a candle or just sit quietly as we give thanks for those whom we have loved and lost.”

More information about York Minster’s Season of Remembrance can be found here.