Contact a Funeral Director or Funeral Home once your loved one has passed away.  If you do not know any Funeral Directors, please call the parish office and we can assist you in finding one. Our phone number is (773) 545-6496.

Look over the planning sheet and begin to think about these things.  Start thinking about who you would like to be pallbearers (those who carry the casket) and lectors at the Funeral Mass (1 Old Testament, 1 New Testament, and 1 for the Universal Prayer ~ 3 total).
 
A member of our parish Ministry of Consolation will contact the family to plan the Funeral Mass and arrange a prayer service during the wake at the funeral home. Consolation Ministers will assist the family and those in attendance on the day of the Funeral Mass.

FUNERALS WITHOUT FUNERAL DIRECTOR
We strongly encourage all families to use a Funeral Director.  These are paid professionals who make the process of planning and organizing a funeral as easy as possible for you while your family grieves; however if your loved one passed some time ago and you are now ready to bury their cremated remains, we can set up a Funeral Mass without a Funeral Director.  All we are able to do is celebrate the Funeral Mass.  We cannot order flowers, holy cards, guest books, or set up displays of pictures. 

WAKES AND VIGIL SERVICES
Members of our parish Ministry of Consolation will come and offer Vigil Prayers at the Funeral Home during the wake. 

GUEST PRIEST/DEASON
Clergy who are related or family friends that wish to concelebrate or celebrate the Funeral Mass are always welcome.  Please let us know as soon as possible so our priests can prepare accordingly.  Any priests or deacons from outside the Archdiocese of Chicago, or the Dioceses of Joliet and Rockford, will need to have a letter of suitability sent to the Archdiocese of Chicago Pastoral Center.
  
FUNERALS FOR NON-CATHOLICS
A Catholic Funeral Mass may be celebrated for a person who is not Catholic, as long as this would not offend the sensibilities of those who attend.  This case may arise when the living spouse is Catholic, and the spouse who died is not Catholic. 
 
WORDS OF REMEMBRANCE (EULOGIES)
Part of the grieving process is to share stories and memories of our loved one who has passed.  In the Rite of Christian Burial, this is most appropriate at the Wake, during Vigil Prayers, or even at lunch following the cemetery service.  The Mass for Christian Burial is focused on giving thanks and praise to God for the gift of eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven.  We discourage words of remembrance during the Funeral Mass.  If your family wishes to offer words of remembrance at Mass, we ask that they be written out and kept to a three-minute length. 

The Catholic Church does allow for the cremation of our bodies after death and requires the body, whether full or cremated, be buried on sacred ground (a cemetery).  The cremated remains of a body should be treated with the same respect given to the human body from which they come. This includes the use of a worthy vessel to contain the ashes, the manner in which they are carried, and the care and attention to appropriate placement and transport, and the final disposition. The cremated remains should be buried in a grave or entombed in a mausoleum or columbarium. The practice of scattering cremated remains on the sea, from the air, or on the ground, or keeping cremated remains in the home of a relative or friend of the deceased are not the reverent disposition that the Church requires.

An option for Funeral planning is to rent a casket for the deceased person so that you can have a full body viewing at the Wake and for the Funeral Mass.  Following the Funeral Mass, you can have your loved one cremated and then call our parish priest to meet you at the cemetery for the committal service. 

For some families, the choice of cremation is based on financial hardship.  The Archdiocese and our parish is willing to work with families so that your loved one can be buried with the love and respect they deserve.  Please don’t hesitate to call our parish or Catholic Cemeteries of Chicago.