Pontiff to celebrate All Souls' Day Mass in Rome War Cemetery.

Pope Francis will celebrate All Souls' Day Mass at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery in the Testaccio area of Rome on Thursday 2 November.

The service, commemorating all those who have died, will begin at 10.00 and will be live streamed by Vatican Media.

All Souls' Day, a Catholic tradition of mourning the dearly departed, is a particularly important day in Italy when people gather to visit family graves.

In recent years the pontiff has visited several war cemeteries on All Soul's Day, including the American Military Cemetery in 2017 and the French Military Cemetery in 2021.

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The Rome War Cemetery was the work of architect Louis de Soissons, who designed about 50 war cemeteries throughout Italy and Greece.

Dating to 1944, the Rome War Cemetery contains the graves of 426 war dead.

They died between November 1942 and February 1947 and hailed from the UK, Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand and South Africa.

There are a number of Commonwealth war graves in Italy, all administered by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Those in Rome, Anzio and Monte Cassino are among the most important.