Did you know that nearly half of Americans over the age of 40 would prefer to have a religious funeral? When it comes to honoring the dead, a lot of people believe religion plays a big part in that. 

One of the most popular religions in America is Christianity. It makes up over 70% of the US population and 20% of those people are Catholic. 

For a Catholic funeral, you will likely need a requiem mass. 

What goes into this? What are the most important things to know? 

This is your guide. 

Carrying the Casket

Something that you should be prepared for is to have to carry the casket. Typically, this is done by 6-8 of the closest male loved ones of the deceased. The casket would be delivered to the altar where it will rest until the funeral mass is over. 

Music and Readings 

Next, you should be prepared for what type of music and readings go into this type of mass. For those that go to mass regularly, this will not be too much different than what goes on there. 

When it comes to music, it will either be hymns sung by an organist or choir, or people may elect to choose more classical music that still has a sacred meaning. 

Along with choosing the music, you should expect to have some readings during this funeral mass. Typically, these are passages from the bible. Besides that, the priest may address the crowd for a few minutes and talk about honoring life. 

Holy Communion 

One of the last things that will happen during a funeral mass is people lining up to receive Holy Communion. This goes along with taking a sip of wine sometimes to represent the body and blood of Jesus Christ. 

People will line up to do this to receive Communion from the priest. After that, the mass will end shortly after. 

Blessing the Dead 

Something that will happen at the start and end of the mass is that the priest will bless the dead body with Holy water. What they will do is they will spray water on the casket when it passes them and they will do so again before the casket leaves the church. 

This is meant to honor the dead and ask God to look after the body in the afterlife. 

Learn More About a Requiem Mass 

These are the biggest things that you should know about a requiem mass. Essentially, if you are someone that is used to regular masses, there will be very few changes here. 

The main one is blessing the body by the priest. Along with this, the other change will be loved ones carrying the casket into the church. 

However, you will still have music and readings of your choosing and you will have Holy Communion if you do a full mass. 

Do you want to know more about a religious funeral? Request information from us today.