Catholic funeral Mass program: the order of the Mass, readings and what to ask the parish

A Catholic funeral Mass follows a set order, and the program follows it too. That makes the program easier to write than most: the parts are already named, and your job is to fill in the readings, the hymns and the names of the people taking part. This page shows the order of the Mass as it prints in a program, the readings families usually choose, the hymns most often sung, and the handful of points that differ from parish to parish, so you can ask before you print.

The order below follows the Order of Christian Funerals as parish planning guides print it. It is a guide, not a rule book: the parish office or the priest confirms the final order with you, and their word comes first. If you are unsure about anything on this page, email hello@memorialpaper.com and we will help you sort it out.

The three parts of a Catholic funeral

A Catholic funeral is usually three services over two or three days:

• The vigil, often called the wake, the evening before. Usually at the funeral home, sometimes in the church. Prayers, readings, and often the rosary. In many parishes this is where family and friends speak about the person.
• The funeral Mass, in the parish church. Also called the Mass of Christian Burial. This is the service the program is for.
• The rite of committal, at the cemetery or the crematorium chapel, straight after the Mass.

A funeral Mass is not held on Sundays, on holy days of obligation, or during the three days before Easter. On those days the parish uses a funeral liturgy outside Mass, which has the same readings and prayers without the Eucharist. The parish will tell you which applies.

What goes in the program

A four-page Catholic funeral Mass program is one Letter sheet, printed on both sides and folded in half:

1. Front cover. "In Loving Memory of", their photo, their name and dates, then "Mass of Christian Burial" (or "Funeral Mass"), the date and time, and the church.
2. Inside, both pages. The order of the Mass under its five headings, with a line under each item for the hymn title, the reading's citation and the name of the reader. The Mass has more parts than most services, so it usually takes both inside pages.
3. Back cover. A short prayer, a thank-you from the family, the reception details, and the pallbearers. A short life story of about 70 words fits above the prayer if you want one.

Two things do not go in the program. The words of the Mass itself, the prayers and the people's responses, are in the parish's missalette or worship aid; a program prints the names of the parts, not the texts. And readings are printed as citations, "Wisdom 3:1–9", not written out, because the lectionary translations are copyrighted and differ by country. Guests follow the readings from the lectern or the missalette.

The order of the funeral Mass

This is the order as it appears in a program, part by part. The notes in each part explain what happens and what the family can fill in.

Introductory rites

• Reception at the church door. The priest greets the family and the coffin at the door, sprinkles it with holy water, and the pall, a white cloth, is placed over it. Family members or friends may place the pall. A Bible or a cross may be placed on the coffin. If there is a flag, it comes off here and goes back on after the Mass.
• Entrance hymn. Sung as the coffin is brought forward. Print the title.
• Opening prayer. Said by the priest.

Liturgy of the Word

• First reading. Usually from the Old Testament, read by a family member or friend. Print the citation and the reader's name.
• Responsorial psalm. Usually sung, led by the cantor. Print the psalm number and, if you like, the title of the setting.
• Second reading. From the New Testament. Citation and reader.
• Gospel acclamation. Sung.
• Gospel. Read by the priest or deacon, who usually chooses it. Print the citation.
• Homily. Given by the priest or deacon. It reflects on the readings and the hope of the resurrection; it is not a eulogy. Print the priest's name if you like.
• Prayer of the faithful. Also called the universal prayer or the intercessions. A family member may read the petitions. Print the reader's name.

Liturgy of the Eucharist

• Presentation of the gifts. Family members or friends bring the bread and wine to the altar. Print their names and the title of the hymn sung meanwhile.
• Eucharistic prayer. Led by the priest, with the sung parts: Holy, Holy, Holy; the memorial acclamation; the great Amen.
• The Lord's Prayer.
• Sign of peace and Lamb of God.
• Communion. Catholics who are prepared come forward to receive. Print the title of the communion hymn, and a second meditation hymn if there is one. Some parishes ask families to add a line for guests who do not receive Communion; see the list below.
• Prayer after Communion.

Final commendation

• Words of remembrance. Where the parish allows it, one family member or friend speaks briefly about the person. Parishes differ on whether and where this happens; see the list below. If yours allows it here, print the speaker's name. If not, leave this line out.
• Song of farewell. Sung while the priest sprinkles and incenses the coffin. Print the title.
• Prayer of commendation. Said by the priest.
• Recessional hymn. Sung as the coffin is carried out. Print the title.

Rite of committal

• One line: the name of the cemetery, and the reception that follows. The rite itself is short: a reading, prayers, the committal, the Lord's Prayer and a blessing.

A short form, if you have only one page

If your program has one panel for the order of service, this fourteen-line version keeps every part a guest needs to follow:

Entrance Hymn
Opening Prayer
First Reading
Responsorial Psalm
Second Reading
Gospel
Homily
Prayer of the Faithful
Presentation of the Gifts
Communion Hymn
Words of Remembrance
Song of Farewell
Recessional Hymn
Rite of Committal

A sample order, filled in

For Eleanor Rose Whitfield, a fictional person, as it prints across the inside pages of a program. Every name, church and cemetery here is invented.

Funeral Mass
Saturday, October 10, 2026, 11:00 a.m., St. Anne's Church

Introductory Rites
Reception at the Church Door: sprinkling with holy water, placing of the pall
Entrance Hymn: "Be Not Afraid"
Opening Prayer

Liturgy of the Word
First Reading: Wisdom 3:1–9, read by Daniel Whitfield
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 23, "The Lord Is My Shepherd"
Second Reading: Romans 8:31–35, 37–39, read by Anne Whitfield
Gospel Acclamation
Gospel: John 14:1–6
Homily: Father Thomas Reilly
Prayer of the Faithful: read by Emma Whitfield

Liturgy of the Eucharist
Presentation of the Gifts: Lucas and Olivia Whitfield, "Here I Am, Lord"
Eucharistic Prayer: Holy, Holy, Holy; Memorial Acclamation; Great Amen
The Lord's Prayer
Sign of Peace, Lamb of God
Communion: "I Am the Bread of Life"
Prayer after Communion

Final Commendation
Words of Remembrance: Sarah Whitfield-Brooks
Song of Farewell: "In Paradisum"
Prayer of Commendation
Recessional Hymn: "On Eagle's Wings"

Rite of Committal
Holy Cross Cemetery. Please join the family for a reception in the parish hall afterwards.

Readings: choose one or two, print the citation

Families usually choose the first reading and the second reading, and sometimes the psalm. The Gospel is usually the priest's choice. Readings at a funeral Mass are from scripture only; a poem or a letter belongs at the vigil or the reception. Your parish will give you its own list, which is the one to use; these are the readings that appear on most parish lists, from the lectionary's Masses for the dead. Verse numbers follow the United States and Canadian lectionaries and can differ slightly elsewhere.

First reading, from the Old Testament

• 2 Maccabees 12:43–46
• Job 19:1, 23–27a
• Wisdom 3:1–9, or 3:1–6, 9
• Wisdom 4:7–15
• Isaiah 25:6a, 7–9
• Lamentations 3:17–26
• Daniel 12:1–3

First reading in the Easter season, when the first reading comes from the New Testament

• Acts 10:34–43, or 10:34–36, 42–43
• Revelation 14:13
• Revelation 20:11–21:1
• Revelation 21:1–5a, 6b–7

Responsorial psalm, usually sung

• Psalm 23, Psalm 25, Psalm 27, Psalm 42–43, Psalm 63, Psalm 103, Psalm 116, Psalm 122, Psalm 130, Psalm 143

Second reading, from the New Testament

• Romans 5:5–11
• Romans 5:17–21
• Romans 6:3–9, or 6:3–4, 8–9
• Romans 8:14–23
• Romans 8:31b–35, 37–39
• Romans 14:7–9, 10c–12
• 1 Corinthians 15:20–28, or 15:20–23
• 1 Corinthians 15:51–57
• 2 Corinthians 4:14–5:1
• 2 Corinthians 5:1, 6–10
• Philippians 3:20–21
• 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18
• 2 Timothy 2:8–13
• 1 John 3:1–2
• 1 John 3:14–16

Gospel, usually chosen by the priest

• Matthew 5:1–12a
• Matthew 11:25–30
• Matthew 25:1–13
• Matthew 25:31–46
• Mark 15:33–39; 16:1–6
• Luke 7:11–17
• Luke 12:35–40
• Luke 23:33, 39–43
• Luke 23:44–46, 50, 52–53; 24:1–6a
• Luke 24:13–35
• John 5:24–29
• John 6:37–40
• John 6:51–58
• John 11:17–27, or 11:21–27
• John 11:32–45
• John 12:23–28
• John 14:1–6
• John 17:24–26
• John 19:17–18, 25–39

If no one in the family feels able to read, say so. The parish will provide a lector.

Music: titles only, from the parish's repertoire

Music at a funeral Mass is sacred music, chosen with the parish musician from what the parish sings. Favourite songs that are not hymns belong at the vigil or the reception. The program prints hymn titles only. These are the titles that come up most often on parish lists, by where they are sung:

• Entrance: Be Not Afraid; Amazing Grace; Here I Am, Lord; On Eagle's Wings; O God, Our Help in Ages Past; For All the Saints; Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven; Love Divine, All Loves Excelling; Lord of All Hopefulness.
• Psalm settings: The Lord Is My Shepherd (Psalm 23); Shepherd Me, O God; The Lord Is My Light; My Soul Is Thirsting; With the Lord There Is Mercy; The Lord Is Kind and Merciful.
• Presentation of the gifts: Eye Has Not Seen; How Great Thou Art; I Know That My Redeemer Lives; Prayer of St. Francis; You Are Near; Ave Maria; Keep in Mind; Shelter Me, O God.
• Communion: I Am the Bread of Life; One Bread, One Body; Taste and See; Gift of Finest Wheat; Eat This Bread; Panis Angelicus; Like a Shepherd; The King of Love My Shepherd Is.
• Song of farewell: Song of Farewell; In Paradisum; May the Angels Lead You into Paradise.
• Recessional: On Eagle's Wings; How Great Thou Art; Amazing Grace; Be Not Afraid; I Know That My Redeemer Lives; Christ Be Our Light; Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee; Holy God, We Praise Thy Name.

Check these with the parish before you print

Parishes and dioceses differ on a few points. A short call to the parish office settles all of them and saves a reprint.

1. Words of remembrance. Some parishes welcome a few minutes from one family member or friend before the final commendation; some place them at the start of Mass; many prefer them at the vigil the evening before; a few prefer none at Mass. Where they are allowed, the parish usually asks for one speaker, three to five minutes, written out, and about the person's life and faith. Ask, then put the line where the parish says, or leave it out. Our eulogy guide helps with the writing.
2. Readings and readers. Confirm your choices against the parish's list, and who will read.
3. Music. The parish musician confirms every hymn and the psalm setting. Some parishes keep certain pieces, Ave Maria for example, for the presentation of the gifts rather than Communion.
4. A note for guests who do not receive Communion. Many parishes like a line in the program for guests of other faiths, and the wording varies. Ask whether they want one and what it should say.
5. Cremated remains. If the person has been cremated, the parish will say how the reception at the door and the committal change. Cremation after the Mass, with the body present, is what the Church prefers, and the remains are buried or entombed rather than scattered, divided or kept at home.
6. The pall and a flag. The pall goes on in the church, so a flag on the coffin comes off at the door and goes back on at the end. The parish or the funeral director will manage this; you only need to know it so the program does not promise otherwise.
7. Flowers. Some parishes do not place flowers in the church in Lent. Ask before ordering.
8. The date. No funeral Mass on a Sunday, a holy day of obligation or in the three days before Easter; the parish will offer a funeral liturgy outside Mass instead, and the program's cover then says "Funeral Liturgy".

The vigil and the committal

Most families do not print a program for the vigil or the committal, but it helps to know their shape.

The vigil usually runs: greeting and opening song; an opening prayer; a reading, a psalm and a Gospel; a short homily or reflection; intercessions and the Lord's Prayer; a concluding prayer and blessing. Family and friends often speak here, and the rosary may be prayed before or after.

The rite of committal, at the graveside or the crematorium chapel, is short: an invitation to prayer, a verse of scripture, a prayer over the place of burial, the committal itself, intercessions, the Lord's Prayer, a concluding prayer and a blessing. The priest, a deacon or a lay minister may lead it.

The back cover

The back cover of a Catholic program usually carries a short prayer, the family's thanks, the reception details and the pallbearers. The prayer most often chosen is the traditional prayer for the dead, in its old wording:

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May they rest in peace. Amen.

Change "them" to "him" or "her" as your family says it. A thank-you from the family might read: "The family of Eleanor is deeply grateful for your love, your prayers and your many kindnesses. Thank you for being with us today." More wording for the back cover is on our funeral program format page, and our poems and verses page has scripture in the King James wording that families sometimes add to a prayer card.

Templates

Our Chapel Light Catholic funeral Mass program template has this whole order already laid out across the inside pages, with a line under each part for the hymn, the reading and the reader, the words of remembrance line ready to move or delete, and a guide with the questions on this page to ask the parish. It comes as a Canva template link (a free account works) and a Microsoft Word file, as an instant download.

For a funeral liturgy outside Mass, a memorial Mass later, or a program with a single order-of-service page, our Pressed Garden funeral program takes the fourteen-line short form above, and has a matching prayer card and welcome sign. The editing and printing steps are in our how-to guide.

Not sure what your parish expects, or how to fit the order on the page? Email hello@memorialpaper.com. We will help you finish in time.