It is always a privilege for our parish community to support families and friends when they have lost a loved one through death.

A Catholic funeral service can be either a Requiem Mass or a service of prayers and readings from Sacred Scripture. The Mass is the traditionally preferred way of celebrating a Catholic funeral. When the Church celebrates Mass it becomes part of Christ’s self-offering to the Father, and expresses our union with the risen Christ, and our oneness with each other in Christian love.

One important thing to bear in mind is that the focus for a Catholic funeral is always on Christ who through his death and resurrection offers us eternal life with God. The prayers will ask God to give the deceased eternal happiness, and will also thank God for the goodness of the person’s life. A short eulogy is allowed, but it must be clear that this is not part of the funeral liturgy.

At any church service we are always mindful to welcome those who might not feel at home in a Catholic church.

The details of a funeral are worked out with the priest, the parish office staff, and the funeral director. The principal steps which need to be taken are the following:

• Contact the funeral director to provide required information.
• The funeral director contacts the parish office to confirm the time for the funeral.
• The family contacts the parish office to arrange a time for discussion of the details of the service.
• The priest approves the funeral booklet, if such is required, and the family arranges the printing, music, refreshments, flowers, etc.