Funerals

A Catholic Funeral is not about ringing the Church bell or fixing a cross on the grave of the diseased. A Catholic funeral is carried out in accordance with the prescribed rites of the Catholic Church. Such funerals are referred to in Catholic canon law as “ecclesiastical funerals” and are dealt with in canons 1176–1185 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law, and in canons 874–879 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. In Catholic funerals, the Church “seeks spiritual support for the deceased, honors their bodies, and at the same time brings the solace of hope to the living.” The Second Vatican Council in its Constitution on the Liturgy decreed: “The rite for the burial of the dead should express more clearly the paschal character of Christian death, and should correspond more closely to the circumstances and traditions found in various regions.”

In general, Catholics are to be given a Catholic funeral upon their death. Catechumens are to be considered as Catholics with regard to funeral matters, and the local ordinary may permit unbaptized children whose parents intended to have them baptized to be given a Catholic funeral. The local ordinary may also permit baptized persons who were not Catholic to be given a Catholic funeral, provided their own minister is not available, unless they were clearly opposed to it.

• However, Catholic burial rites are to be refused even to baptized Catholics who fall within any of the following classifications, unless they gave some sign of repentance before death:
• Persons publicly known to be guilty of apostasy, heresy or schism;
• Those who asked to be cremated for anti-Christian motives;
• Manifest sinners, if the granting of Church funeral rites to them would cause scandal to Catholics.

The Latin Church also has some guidelines regarding the church in which the funeral rites are to be celebrated and, on the fees, payable to a priest for conducting the funeral.

Conveyance to the church

The Rite of Funerals acknowledge that funeral processions from home to church and church to cemetery take place. Where such processions take place, one tradition is reflected in the following. The parish priest and other clergy go to the house of the deceased with holy water. Before the coffin is removed from the house it is sprinkled with the holy water. The priest, with his assistants, conducts that part of the rite at home. Then the procession sets out for the church. The bell ringer, funeral banner, cross-bearer goes first, followed by those carrying lighted candles, the family, and friends of the deceased and others walk behind it.

On reaching the church the Priest receives the coffin sprinkling it with Holy Water and covering it with the purple covering cloth. As the body is placed in the middle of the church, and that part of the rite to be conducted in the Church is administered. Historical precedents provide that, if the corpse is a layman, the feet are to be turned towards the altar. If the corpse is a priest, then the position is reversed, the head being towards the altar. The idea seems to be that the bishop (or priest) in death should occupy the same position in the church as during life, facing his people who he taught and blessed in Christ’s name. According to another tradition not now considered obligatory in the Roman Rite, the feet of all Christians both before the altar and in the grave should be pointed to the East. This custom is alluded to by Bishop Hildebert at the beginning of the 12th century, and its symbolism is discussed by Guillaume Durand. “A man ought so to be buried”, he says, “that while his head lies to the West his feet are turned to the East…”

Funeral Mass and a Requiem Mass

A funeral Mass is a form of Mass for the Dead celebrated prior to the burial rite in the context of a Funeral. A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead is a Mass offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, using a particular form of the Roman Missal. It is usually, but not necessarily, celebrated in the context of a funeral.

For a Funeral Mass the bier holding the body is positioned centrally close to the sanctuary of the church. A deceased lay person’s feet are towards the altar, but a priest’s are away from the altar, positions reminiscent of their relative positions when alive and celebrating Mass.

A funeral Mass usually concludes with the rite of commendation of the dead person, formerly referred to as the absolution, in which the coffin containing the body is sprinkled with holy water and incensed. While usually conducted in church, it may be conducted in the cemetery. If the commendation is in church, then a shorter service is used at the cemetery.

Final Commendation and Farewell

The part of the church service that follows the Mass (if permitted by the ordinary of the diocese) includes the sprinkling of the coffin with holy water and incensing it on both sides. This part was commonly called the absolution held before the honoring of the coffin, and then the body is carried from the church to the graveside.

Graveside

Usually the final commendation is conducted in church and then the body is carried to the grave. The tomb or burial plot is then blessed, if it has not been blessed previously. A grave newly dug in an already consecrated cemetery is considered blessed, and requires no further consecration. However, a mausoleum erected above ground, or even a brick chamber beneath the surface, is regarded as needing blessing when used for the first time. This blessing is short and consists only of a single prayer after which the body is again sprinkled with holy water and incensed.

The graveside ceremony usually ends with a prayer to bolster the hope of those who mourn: “Show compassion to your people in their sorrow. …Lift us from the darkness of this grief to the peace and light of your presence.”

Funeral donation

Many Catholic families make a donation to the priest in honor of the dead family member. The donation is usually money, but in some cases the family may donate a vestment, Communion ware, i.e. a chalice, a ciborium, and a pyx for the priest to use in his services or for a missionary priest who needs things for his ministry. Many funeral homes add the stipend for the priest to the funeral bill and then hand this on to the priest. This money is utilized for the maintenance of the Church cemetery and to settle the salaries of the gardeners who maintains the cemetery.

Requiem Masses

Since Vatican II, Requiem Masses have been celebrated mainly for a funeral, or as a commemorative Mass for the deceased in cases of cremation or when the body is not present. The custom of celebrating Requiem Masses at later times, in remembrance of one’s deceased relative, is largely replaced by ordinary daily Masses said with a stipend for the intention of the donor.

The Burial of a Baptized Catholic is permissible in the Church cemetery by going through the proper formality of documentation. The Parish Priest must be met personally by the family of the diseased to inform with the necessary documents such as the Government Death Certificate, Parish Family Book or the Baptismal Certificate and Marriage Certificate of the diseased, if from another parish the letter of recommendation from the Parish Priest etc.

The usual practice of funerals in the parish of Katukurunda involves the Parish Priest visiting the house of the diseased twice, once during the night before the burial and on the day of the burial prior to cortege leaving residence. The Parish Priest will officiate unless there’s another priest delegated, both in the Church and at the cemetery. The family of the diseased would do well if they are able to contribute to the maintenance of the cemetery by settling their dues by settling the family book monthly contributions to date prior to the burial. Please click the following link to read the conditions and terms of obtaining a Catholic Burial in the Parish Cemetery of Katukurunda:

• Click the embedded [PDF] Request form for a Catholic Burial

• Click the embedded [PDF] conditions and terms for a Catholic Burial