NOTE: Based on surveys and articles, many devout Catholics are not getting a Catholic funeral so this document is intended to make sure that my family and friends know that a Catholic funeral is extremely important to me, as well as the reception of the Last Rites of the Catholic Church from a priest, which includes Confession, Holy Communion, special prayers, and the Apostolic Pardon.
CERTIFICATE AFFIRMING MY VERY STRONG DESIRE TO HAVE A CATHOLIC FUNERAL
I am signing this certificate, hanging it in my home, and distributing it to my family and best friends so that they know I sincerely beg my relatives to honor my final wishes as I have requested in this document. I will forever be indebted to you and will pray for you.
Signed with love for all: ____________________________
Date: __________________________
My Parish is: ___________________________________
My preferred Funeral home is: ______________________
My preferred cemetery is: __________________________
1. I certify that I very strongly desire a Catholic funeral Mass, with a Catholic wake, and a Rosary or prayer service. Unless there is a very important reason, I would like my funeral to be held within about a week of my passing.
2. I am convinced that a Catholic Funeral Mass (or Mass of Christian Burial) will help to bring human closure for the grieving family and friends, reinforcing my love of everyone who knows me and will miss me. While the loss of a loved one is painful, the funeral rites help provide a structure through which the bereaved can express their sorrow, honor the deceased, thank God for the life of the deceased loved one, and find solace in the promises of faith.
3. A Catholic funeral is a great blessing to hand me over to my Creator from Whom I came and am now returning, by the grace of God. It is a sacred act that honors both the body and soul of the deceased providing the opportunity to entrust my soul to the mercy of God, reaffirming my hope in the resurrection and eternal life promised by Christ.
4. I sincerely hope that everyone will be able to take advantage of spiritual support and the comfort of communal prayers and my treasured traditions. Through prayers, hymns, scripture readings, homily, and the real presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, the Catholic funeral proclaims the victory of Christ over death and invites the faithful to unite their prayers for me. These prayers remind us that death is the gateway into eternity, a transition from Alive to MORE ALIVE and from Conscious to MORE CONSCIOUS.
5. If you knew me and loved me, I thank you for being the presence of God in my life. If I caused you to hurt in any way, I ask for your forgiveness as I know my Lord has forgiven me. I tried to live and teach selfless love, the importance of the seven Sacraments, and that God loves each of us immensely. I want to emphasize the great gift of Confession (See Jn. 20:21-23). I know that God wants every Catholic to go to Confession regularly, as I have tried to do, so that we are always prepared for our particular judgement by Jesus when we enter into eternity and we will learn about the eternal destiny that we chose during our lifetime.
6. Please pray for me because I know that most souls go through a cleansing in Purgatory since most souls need to reach the perfection that Jesus told us that we should all strive to attain: You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Mt. 5:48). Jesus also said: Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few (Mt. 7:13-14). Catholics know that prayers assist the purification of people in Purgatory and it is NOT helpful to say or imply that people go directly to heaven, as our clergy have taught us. Regarding the Apostolic Pardon, I renounce all sins and all attachments to sins.
7. If anyone wants to do anything for me, please have Masses said for me since Purgatory is real and most people need to be cleansed of imperfections and attachments to sin before entering into heaven. This is the reason that for 2000 years almost every Mass has been offered for the souls of those who have gone before us. It is VERY HELPFUL to ask everyone to pray for the soul of every deceased person. Some day they will be very thankful for our prayers and sacrifices.
8. I believe that a Catholic funeral helps to fill the void that occurs when we lose someone we love. Sometimes, people try to fill that void in unhealthy and potentially harmful ways. The funeral allows us to come together as a community and start to fill that void with the love of God and the love of relatives and friends.
9. I am also requesting a Catholic wake, officially known as a Vigil for the Deceased, which includes a Rosary (preferred) or prayer service, typically held the evening before the funeral or just before the funeral Mass. It provides a time for loved ones to gather, pray for the soul of the departed, offer condolences to the family, and view the casket.
10. I also request a Catholic burial committal service where the deceased is laid to rest in a cemetery as required by Catholic teaching. This ceremony includes prayers, a scripture reading, and a blessing of the ground by a priest or deacon at the graveside.
FROM FR. JOE KRUPP, DIOCESE OF LANSING, TO CATHOLICS WHO WANT A FUNERAL MASS- I cannot emphasize this enough: You simply cannot assume that after you are gone, your family will schedule a Catholic funeral…. A funeral Mass is not a celebration of life: Rather, it is primarily a prayer for the dead…. a celebration of life is not one that lines up well with our faith…. READ MORE AT: https://www.dioceseoflansing.org/news/read-know-father-joe-ensuring-catholic-funeral
NOTE: Some states allow you to appoint a Funeral Representative to make sure your funeral arrangements are followed. The related Michigan law is explained at: https://mfda.org/aws/MFDA/asset_manager/get_file/164160?ver=984. Also, you can help your family and help ensure that your funeral plans are followed by pre-planning and pre-paying for your funeral in advance.
RECOMMENDATION: In planning your funeral, you could ask for advice from your parish, a funeral home, and cemetery. This is a beautiful gift you can give your family so that they will not have to spend a lot of time planning your funeral and burial. You can also include your desire to have a Catholic funeral Mass in your will or estate documents.
APOSTOLIC PARDON BRINGS TOTAL FORGIVENESS BEFORE DEATH. I sincerely want to receive the Apostolic Pardon to receive an indulgence for the remission of temporal punishment due to sin (given to a dying person who is in the state of grace), and I agree with Fr. John Trigilio who said on EWTN that the person must renounce all sins and attachments to sins, which I hereby agree to do. MORE INFO. AT: https://www.ncregister.com/features/apostolic-pardon-brings-total-forgiveness-before-death
REGARDING CREMATION: The Catholic Church requires that ashes after cremation must be treated with great respect. It does not allow people to keep ashes at home or in jewelry or by the scattering of ashes anywhere like in mountains or lakes, etc. These are undignified practices that do not honor the deceased. The Catholic Church requires that all remains must be buried. We were made another Christ when our body was saved through the washing of Baptism and anointment with Chrism. The body and soul of a Catholic were fed with Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist which is the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ, that we are to eat and never die, as Jesus said in John 6:51: I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever. Our body is the instrument through which we did good works and pursued holiness. See more info. at: https://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/sacraments-and-sacramentals/bereavement-and-funerals/cremation-and-funerals
By John W. Beutler, July 2026