Catholic Funerals
The Catholic faith follow a prescribed format for funeral services depending on whether there is to be a Requiem Mass or not.
The family of a Catholic person may hold a prayer vigil the evening before the funeral service. This can take place at the family home, or sometimes in the church, with the coffin left overnight, and the priest leading a small service.
If the deceased person hasn't chosen to be received into church the night before the funeral service, the priest will greet the coffin at the door of the church and sprinkle with holy water before leading into the church. The coffin will be placed on a catafalque or trestles before the altar and a pall, a special cloth, will be placed over it.
A Catholic funeral service can include a Requiem Mass, which would include the Eucharistic Prayer and Holy Communion.
The funeral liturgy would normally include at least one reading from the Old Testament and a psalm, which can be read by the family, friends or the priest. The priest would then read a passage from the gospel, deliver a homily and read the eulogy.
Mourners would then receive the Holy Communion, before hearing the special prayers and Final Commendation. The priest would sprinkle further holy water onto the coffin before the end of the service.
A Catholic funeral service would usually last between 40 minutes and an hour.
Catholic funerals would normally be followed by burial however in 1963, Pope Paul VI decreed that cremation was allowed, provided that the ashes be interred in a cemetery or kept in an urn in a columbarium approved by the Church.
It is usual for attendees of a Catholic funeral to wear black smart clothing.
The Catholic faith believes in life after death. They believe that their actions during their life determine whether their soul goes to heaven or hell or if they shall spend time in purgatory.
Not all modern Catholics believe in purgatory, but it is still an official doctrine of the Catholic Church. The belief in purgatory encouraged the development of traditions, such as prayers and vigils for the dead, which are reflected in current Catholic funeral services.
