Catholics/Funeral Mass

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Expert: - 4/19/2010


Question
My aunt was a faithful Catholic.  Her children are only having a Memorial Service at the funeral home.  Is a funeral Mass required for Catholics?

Answer
Catholics traditionally are supposed to have not only a Mass, but a Missa Cantata at their exequies.  Nor can that be a Novus Ordo (New Order) service, which is not a Mass, but a fully Traditional Latin Mass.  Many Newchurchers, that is, members of the Newchurch of the New Order, dispense with funerals and have just some kind of "wake" at a mortuary.  A "wake" is not a liturgical service of any kind.

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Fr. Michael

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A traditional Catholic priest, who provides forthright answers to questions FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF TRADITIONAL CATHOLICISM (not the New Order) on topics pertaining to TRADITIONAL Roman Catholicism, including theology, the Bible, Church history, the Latin language, liturgy (especially the Traditional Latin Mass), and music (especially Gregorian chant), and current events in the Catholic Church.

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