In the life of the Christian “[a]ll the sacraments, and principally those of Christian Initiation, have as their goal the last Passover of the child of God which, through death, leads him into the life of the Kingdom. Then what he confessed in faith and hope will be fulfilled.”[1] Indeed, for the faithful “the day of death inaugurates, at the end of his sacramental life, the fulfillment of his new birth begun at Baptism, the definitive ‘conformity’ to the ‘image of the Son’ conferred by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and participation in the feast of the Kingdom which was anticipated in the Eucharist...The Church who, as mother, has borne the Christian sacramentally in her womb during his earthly pilgrimage, accompanies him at his journey’s end, in order to surrender him ‘into the Father’s hands.’ She offers to the Father, in Christ, the child of his grace and she commits to the earth, in hope, the seed of the body that will rise in glory. This offering is fully celebrated in the Eucharistic sacrifice.”[2]

The funeral rites of the Church are liturgical celebrations which occur in the corresponding three places in which they are conducted: the home or funeral home, the church, and the cemetery. Particularly in the Funeral Mass (Mass of Christian Burial), “the Church expresses her efficacious communion with the departed: offering to the father in the Holy Spirit the sacrifice of the death and resurrection of Christ, she asks to purify his child of his sins and their consequences, and to admit him to the Paschal fullness of the table of the Kingdom.”[3] This final greeting and prayer of the Church on behalf of her child is a testament to faith we carry in eternal life and of our connection with those who have gone before us:

…we sing for his departure from this life and separation from us, but also because there is a communion and a reunion. For even dead, we are not at all separated from one another, because we all run the same course and we will find one another again in the same place. We shall never be separated, for we life for Christ, and now we are united with Christ as we go toward him…we shall all be together in Christ.[4]

As part of the preparation for the celebration of the funeral, please consult the Funeral Handbook below for the order of the Mass, the prescribed options for the various readings, the Diocesan policies regarding participation and Words of Remembrance (ie. Eulogies).

Funeral Handbook

If you are not working with a funeral home, please contact the parish office at [email protected] or 203-746-2200 to schedule the date and set up an appointment with the priest for the necessary funeral preparations.

If you are working with a funeral home to prepare for the funeral, they will assist you in contacting the church.