Sacrament Celebration

Guidelines For Funeral Rites

Revised February 1999

"At the death of a Christian, whose life of faith was begun in the waters of baptism and strengthened at the eucharistic table, the Church intercedes on behalf of the deceased because of its confident belief that death is not the end nor does it break the bonds forged in life. The Church also ministers to the sorrowing and consoles them in the funeral rites with the comforting word of God and the sacrament of the Eucharist." (OCF 4)

"In the face of death, the Church confidently proclaims that God has created each person for eternal life and that Jesus, the Son of God, by his death and resurrection, has broken the chains of sin and death that bound humanity. Christians celebrate the funeral rites to offer worship, praise and thanksgiving to God for the gift of life which has now been returned to God, the author of life and the hope of the just." (OCF 1, 5)

"The celebration of the Christian funeral brings hope and consolation to the living. While proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ and witnessing to Christian hope in the resurrection, the funeral rites also recall to all who take part in them God's mercy and judgment and meet the human need to turn always to God in times of crisis." (OCF 7)

1. All baptized Catholics have the right to an ecclesiastical burial celebrated according to Church law (C. 1176).

1. Catechumens are buried as Christian faithful (C. 1183.1).

2. Children whose baptism was intended by their parents, but who died before being baptized, are also to receive Christian burial (C. 1183.2).

2. Every Christian is free to choose his/her place of burial or repository for ashes (C. 1180).

1. The appropriate blessing from the Order of Christian Funerals should be prayed over the place of committal if it has not already been blessed (OCF 218, 405).

2. A prayer of praise and thanksgiving is recited over the place of committal if it has already been blessed (OCF 218, 405).

3. Christian Symbols should be used appropriately at the rites of Christian funerals. These may include an Easter candle, holy water, incense, fresh flowers, the book of the Gospels, and/or a cross on the coffin. Only Christian symbols may rest on or be placed near the coffin during the funeral liturgy (OCF 35-38).

   Any national flags or the flags or insignia of associations to which the deceased belonged are to be removed from the coffin at the entrance of the Church. They may be replaced after the coffin has been taken from the Church. Once in the Church, the coffin is covered with the pall, a reminder of the baptismal garment and a sign of the Christian dignity of the person (OCF 132). The use of the pall also signifies that all are equal in the eyes of God (OCF 38).

4. The rites of Christian funerals may take place at several different stations; i.e., the home, the funeral home, the church, the cemetery and/or a chapel. The three principal rites in Christian funerals are: the Vigil (OCF 51-97), the funeral liturgy (OCF 128-203), and the rite of committal (OCF 204-233). As a general rule, the funeral rites for the faithful departed must be celebrated in his or her own parish church. However, any member of the Christian faithful or those commissioned to arrange for his or her funeral may choose another church for the funeral rites with the consent of its rector and after informing the pastor of the deceased (C. 1177).

   The funeral liturgy is the central liturgical celebration of the Christian community for the deceased. There are two forms of the funeral liturgy: the "Funeral Mass" and the "Funeral Liturgy outside Mass." When one of its members dies, the Church encourages the celebration of the Mass. But when the Mass cannot be celebrated (See "A" below), the second form of the funeral liturgy is used, and a Mass for the deceased is scheduled after the funeral at a time convenient for the family and the parish priest (OCF 128).

1. The funeral Mass is not permitted on solemnities of obligation, on Holy Thursday and the Easter Triduum, and on the Sundays of Advent, Lent, and the Easter Season (OCF 178). In the Diocese of Beaumont, due to the possibility of confusion of the faithful regarding the importance and the obligation of the Sunday Eucharist, as well as the shortage and the physical limitations of parish priests, funeral Masses may not be celebrated on Sundays. A funeral liturgy outside Mass, on a day when the funeral Mass is prohibited, is left to the discretion of the pastor of the deceased.

2. The funeral Mass is not to be celebrated in funeral homes or cemetery chapels (DOB Priests' Faculties, #8).

3. The family of the deceased should be invited to assist in planning the funeral rites and, if possible, exercise some of the liturgical ministries within the liturgy (OCF 15-17).

4. Music is integral to the funeral rites and is to be chosen with care so that it supports, consoles, and uplifts the participants and helps to create in them a spirit of hope in Christ's victory over death and the Christian's share in that victory. Music should be provided for the vigil and funeral liturgy, and whenever possible, for the funeral processions and the rite of committal (OCF 30-32).

5. Presiding Minister: Priests, as teachers of faith and ministers of comfort, preside at the funeral rites, especially the Mass; the celebration of the funeral liturgy is especially entrusted to pastors, parochial administrators, and parochial vicars. When no priest is available, a deacon, as minister of the Word, of the altar, and of charity, presides at the funeral rite outside of Mass. When no priest or deacon is available for the vigil and related rites or the rite of committal, a layperson presides (OCF 14).

6. Funeral Rites for a Baptized Person Belonging to a Non-Catholic Church or ecclesial community are allowed, provided that: 1) this is not clearly contrary to the wishes of the deceased, and 2) the minister of the deceased, for whatever reason, is not available (C. 1183.3 and DOB Priests' Faculties, #23).

1. When a priest or deacon is asked by the family to officiate at the funeral service and burial of a baptized member of another church, he may do so at the funeral parlor, the home, or graveside. Baptized members of another church or ecclesial community may be buried with funeral rites in the Catholic Church with the permission of the local Ordinary (granted by pagella, #23) and provided that the above two conditions are met.

2. As a norm, a baptized non-Catholic will not receive a funeral Mass as part of the funeral rite. However, a funeral Mass can be celebrated if the following conditions are verified:

1. A public celebration of Mass is expressly requested by members of the family, by friends, or subjects of the deceased, out of a genuine religious motive, and

2. scandal on the part of the faithful is absent.

In these cases a public Mass can be celebrated but the name of the deceased is not mentioned in the Eucharistic prayer since that would suppose full communion with the Catholic Church (S.C.D.F. June 11, 1976).

3. Members of other faiths may be buried in a Catholic cemetery and with the clergy of another faith conducting the cemetery rites.

4. Members of other faiths may be invited to preach or read from the Scriptures during a funeral service outside the celebration of the Eucharist.

7. Cremation: (NCCB, May, 1997 "Reflections on the Body, Cremation, and Catholic Funeral Rites")

1. The Order of Christian Funerals reflects a theology and a tradition in which burial (interment or entombment) of the body has been the principal manner of the body's final disposition. Catholic teaching continues to stress the preference for burial or entombment of the body of the deceased.

2. Those who have chosen cremation may receive a Christian Funeral Rite, unless their choice for cremation reflects a denial of the resurrection of the body and the immortality of the soul or is dictated by anti-Christian motives (OCF 19, C. 1176.3).

3. Because the Church prefers the presence of the body for the funeral rites, it is recommended that cremation take place following the funeral liturgy and before the Rite of Committal (OCF 212).

4. When circumstances prevent the presence of the body at the funeral liturgy, it is appropriate that the cremated remains be present for the full course of the funeral rites, including the Vigil for the Deceased, the Funeral Liturgy, and the Rite of Committal. The funeral liturgy should always be celebrated in a church ("Reflections...", p. 10).

5. The cremated remains are to be treated with the same respect given to the corporeal remains of the body. The cremated remains should be entombed in a mausoleum or columbarium; they may also be buried in a common grave in a cemetery. The practices of scattering cremated remains on the sea, from the air, or on the ground or keeping cremated remains in a home are not the reverent disposition that the Church requires ("Reflections ...", p. 11).

8. Denial of Ecclesiastical Funeral Rites: Unless there is some sign of repentance before death, the following may be denied church funerals: notorious apostates, heretics, schismatics; other manifest sinners to whom a church funeral could not be granted without public scandal to the faithful; and those who chose cremation in opposition to the Christian faith. If there is any doubt, the local Ordinary is to be consulted and his judgment followed (C. 1184).

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