Catholic Funeral Mass Program Template

The shape of the Funeral Mass

The Funeral Mass is not invented for each person. It is the Church's liturgy, and it holds the same shape whether the parish is large or small. That is a comfort. You are not designing a service from nothing. You are placing your mother's name, her readings, and her hymns inside a form the Church has prayed for centuries.

The Mass usually begins at the church door. The priest receives the body, sprinkles the casket with holy water in remembrance of baptism, and in many parishes the family places the white pall over the casket before the procession to the altar. From there the Mass moves through the Liturgy of the Word, the Liturgy of the Eucharist, and the Final Commendation and Farewell.

The order most programs print

• Introductory Rites, with the reception of the body at the door
• Sprinkling with holy water and placing of the pall
• Entrance procession and opening hymn
• Liturgy of the Word, first reading, responsorial psalm, second reading, Gospel, homily
• Liturgy of the Eucharist, presentation of the gifts, Eucharistic Prayer, Communion
• Final Commendation and Farewell, with the song of farewell
• Procession to the place of committal

What the program should print

Print the readings with their citations, for example Wisdom 3:1-9 or Romans 8:31-35, 37-39, and the name of each reader. The parish or the funeral home can give you the approved options. The responsorial psalm deserves its refrain printed in full, because the congregation sings or speaks it back.

Print the hymns with their numbers from the parish hymnal, so guests can open to the right page without hunting. If the parish uses a worship aid or projection instead, a simple line naming each hymn is enough.

Print the congregation's responses where you can. Many guests at a Catholic funeral are not Catholic, and a line as small as The Lord be with you, And with your spirit, lets them take part instead of only watching. Your parish can tell you which responses matter most to include.

If the family has asked someone to offer words of remembrance, note that practice varies. Some parishes welcome brief remarks by one person, often before the Final Commendation, and some ask that remembrances be shared at the vigil or the reception instead. Ask before you print a name.

A word for guests who are not Catholic

A short note in the program can spare your guests real anxiety. Two or three sentences will do. Something like this. Guests are warmly invited to take part as they feel comfortable. Please follow the congregation in standing and sitting, and kneeling is optional for visitors.

Communion needs its own gentle line. The Church asks that only Catholics who are prepared to receive come forward for Communion. Many parishes invite others to remain seated, or to come forward with arms crossed over the chest to receive a blessing. Practice on the blessing varies from parish to parish, so confirm the wording with the priest before you print it.

Funeral Mass or the liturgy outside Mass

Not every Catholic funeral is a Mass. The Order of Christian Funerals also provides a Funeral Liturgy outside Mass, which keeps the Liturgy of the Word and the Final Commendation but does not include the Eucharist. Parishes use it when a priest is not available, when the service is held somewhere other than the church, or when the family and pastor judge it the better fit for those attending.

If your service is the liturgy outside Mass, the program simply omits the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Everything else on this page still applies. There may also be a Vigil the evening before and a Rite of Committal at the grave. Each can have its own simple page or panel if you want to print them, but many families print only the funeral itself.

Before you print, ask the parish

Every parish has its own customs inside the one liturgy. Who places the pall, whether there is incense, whether words of remembrance are welcome, which Communion note they prefer. None of this is worth guessing.

Bring your draft to the priest or the parish office before you send it to print. They review funeral programs all the time, and they will catch anything out of order in a few minutes. It is one phone call, and it means the program in every guest's hands matches the Mass as it actually unfolds.