The Polish custom of visiting graves and memorials on All Saints and All Souls Days can be conducive to thinking about death, also one’s own. While one in five Poles (21%) say they would like time to prepare for death, the majority of those surveyed (68%) would wish for death to surprise them.

People who would like time to prepare for death would, above all, like to say goodbye to their nearest and dearest (83%). A majority (59%) would like to put their affairs in order and draw up a will. Only a slightly smaller percentage declare a need to go to confession and receive the sacraments. Fewer respondents expressed a desire to make peace with people with whom they were in conflict or to make sure of a place at a cemetery.

Over the last seven years there has been a clear drop in the number of those wanting to go to confession and receive the sacraments before death (a decrease of 16 percentage points). Likewise, significantly fewer (a drop of 10 points) want to make peace with people with whom they are in conflict.

More on this subject in the CBOS report.