ROMAN CATHOLIC FUNERAL RITE highlights important values in our funeral practices:
1. The sacredness of all human life.
2. The dignity of the individual.
3. The resurrection of Jesus Christ.
4. Death as an occasion to embrace human mortality.
5. The respect which is to be shown for the bodies of the dead.
6. The importance of remembering the dead and offering prayers for them.
7. The need for the Church to provide a ministry of consolation to those who mourn.
8. The Catholic Church strongly prefers the body of the deceased be present for all its funeral rites since the presence of the body most clearly brings to mind the life and death of the person. Therefore, cremation is strongly recommended to take place following the funeral Mass. However, when circumstances prevent the presence of the body, it is appropriate for the cremated remains to be present for all funeral rites. After the funeral Mass, the cremated remains should be reverently buried or entombed in a cemetery, mausoleum or columbarium.
CREMATION reduces the body of a deceased to ashes by burning. The services of a funeral home are required for cremation.
- The guidance of the Roman Catholic Church as outlined by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is “…the practice of cremation has become part of Catholic practice in the United States and other parts of the western world.” This policy is memorialized in canon 1176 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law.
- The cremated remains – ‘cremains’ - should be buried in a grave or entombed in a mausoleum or columbarium.
CREMAINS are the mechanically cleaned residual bone fragments from the cremation process (technically not “ashes”).
URN is a container into which the cremains are inurned.
INURNMENT also refers to the act of placing an urn into a niche, which normally involves a religious service.
COLUMBARIUM is a structure containing recessed vaults or niches into which URNs containing cremains are placed. A faceplate on the niche will normally be engraved with the name and dates of birth and death.
CASKETS:
- ‘Ceremonial casket’ may be rented for a viewing or funeral Mass.
- ‘Alternative casket’, unfinished, contains human remains during cremation.
It is a CATHOLIC CUSTOM to bury within the confines of the Church. The bones of martyrs are placed beneath the altar and the faithful have been buried in crypts and parish cemeteries, as in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Thus, the faithful have a constant visual of those who have gone before us and remain members of the COMMUNION of SAINTS. See the Apostle’s Creed.
COMMUNION OF SAINTS refers to the spiritual solidarity which binds together the faithful on earth, the souls in purgatory, and the saints in heaven in the organic unity of the same mystical body under Christ its head. The participants’ in that solidarity are called ‘saints’ by reason of their destination and of their partaking of the fruits of the Redemption.
ALL SOULS DAY Masses will gain new meaning when celebrated at our own parish columbarium.
ROMAN CATHOLIC FUNERAL RITE highlights important values in our funeral practices:
1. The sacredness of all human life.
2. The dignity of the individual.
3. The resurrection of Jesus Christ.
4. Death as an occasion to embrace human mortality.
5. The respect which is to be shown for the bodies of the dead.
6. The importance of remembering the dead and offering prayers for them.
7. The need for the Church to provide a ministry of consolation to those who mourn.
8. The Catholic Church strongly prefers the body of the deceased be present for all its funeral rites since the presence of the body most clearly brings to mind the life and death of the person. Therefore, cremation is strongly recommended to take place following the funeral Mass. However, when circumstances prevent the presence of the body, it is appropriate for the cremated remains to be present for all funeral rites. After the funeral Mass, the cremated remains should be reverently buried or entombed in a cemetery, mausoleum or columbarium.
CREMATION reduces the body of a deceased to ashes by burning. The services of a funeral home are required for cremation.
- The guidance of the Roman Catholic Church as outlined by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is “…the practice of cremation has become part of Catholic practice in the United States and other parts of the western world.” This policy is memorialized in canon 1176 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law.
- The cremated remains – ‘cremains’ - should be buried in a grave or entombed in a mausoleum or columbarium.
CREMAINS are the mechanically cleaned residual bone fragments from the cremation process (technically not “ashes”).
URN is a container into which the cremains are inurned.
INURNMENT also refers to the act of placing an urn into a niche, which normally involves a religious service.
COLUMBARIUM is a structure containing recessed vaults or niches into which URNs containing cremains are placed. A faceplate on the niche will normally be engraved with the name and dates of birth and death.
CASKETS:
- ‘Ceremonial casket’ may be rented for a viewing or funeral Mass.
- ‘Alternative casket’, unfinished, contains human remains during cremation.
It is a CATHOLIC CUSTOM to bury within the confines of the Church. The bones of martyrs are placed beneath the altar and the faithful have been buried in crypts and parish cemeteries, as in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Thus, the faithful have a constant visual of those who have gone before us and remain members of the COMMUNION of SAINTS. See the Apostle’s Creed.
COMMUNION OF SAINTS refers to the spiritual solidarity which binds together the faithful on earth, the souls in purgatory, and the saints in heaven in the organic unity of the same mystical body under Christ its head. The participants’ in that solidarity are called ‘saints’ by reason of their destination and of their partaking of the fruits of the Redemption.
ALL SOULS DAY Masses will gain new meaning when celebrated at our own parish columbarium.