Funeral Procedures

Vigils and wakes may take place in St. Peter Claver Church. Set-up (flowers, easels, etc.) may take place anytime, after previously scheduled Liturgies however, the time and place of the visitation and other details may only be set up at the direction of the Funeral Home/ Director.
Flowers may be left for use in the church at the discretion of the family as a temporary memorial to the deceased.

Memorials may be directed to St. Peter Claver. There are many projects for the family to consider with a wide range in value.

All Stipends and fees for clergy and Musicians will be determined by the Funeral Home/ Director.
Luncheon Committee: Our Funeral Luncheon Committee can provide a luncheon or refreshments either during the hours of visitation (if this takes place at St. Peter Claver) or after the interment. The Committee will assist with set-up, serving & clean-up of the lunch. Our Funeral Luncheon Committee considers it an honor to provide you and your family with good food and a place for fellowship. Any special requests or special dietary needs can be discussed with the appropriate members of the Funeral Luncheon Committee.

While no stipend/fee is expected, families often choose to make a gift as a sign of their appreciation for the luncheon and or refreshments provided by the volunteers of St. Peter Claver Parish. Any monetary gifts will be used to provide a luncheon or refreshments for another grieving family.

Policy: If the family of the deceased requests guest clergy, the pastor of St. Peter Claver is to be informed. The presider should speak to the family. The funeral liturgy will be presided over by the pastor of St. Peter Claver. The guest Roman Catholic priest/deacon will always be welcome to concelebrate (or assist in the case of a deacon) if he is in good standing. At the discretion of the pastor, the guest priest/deacon may be permitted to give the homily, final commendation and lead the service at the cemetery. Normally, a guest priest or deacon will not preside at a funeral liturgy.

Policy: The standard liturgy for a deceased Catholic who was in good standing with the Church is a Mass, with the body present. Cremation is certainly permissible, but in accordance with Church Law the ashes of the deceased are never to be scattered, used to make jewelry, incorporated into works of art, divided among family and friends, and kept in a private home. The Church believes that proper respect should be shown to our deceased brothers and sisters and so their mortal remains must be properly interred. If the burial is to take place out of state, the pastor of St. Peter Claver must be informed of the name and location of the Cemetery and the local clergy who will perform the necessary burial rites. The details of the burial are not to be “left up in the air” but must be determined before the pastor of St. Peter Claver will celebrate the Funeral Liturgy. A Mass should always be the presumed format. If there is question about whether a liturgy without Mass might be more appropriate, the pastor should speak to the family. In a case where the deceased is not a practicing Catholic or lived a life publicly contradicting Catholic beliefs and practice, a liturgy without a Mass might be more appropriate. In the case of a public sinner, a private funeral is appropriate.

Policy: A Mass can always be celebrated for a child who has died, even without baptism. Appropriate prayers are used if the child was not baptized.

Policy: A Catholic funeral may be celebrated (even a Mass) for a person who is not a Catholic, if 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 practiced no religion.

The grieving process necessarily includes time to remember the life of the deceased loved one. In the Catholic funeral rite, this is most appropriately done during the time of visitation, at lunch, or even at the Vigil (Wake) Service.

Since the Funeral Mass is primarily the time for praise and thanks for God’s gift of eternal life in Jesus, we discourage the inclusion of a eulogy at the Mass. Therefore, please be sure to plan for eulogies at the Vigil (Wake) Service or Funeral Luncheon.

If a eulogy is to be delivered at the visitation or luncheon, the reflections may be no more than three minutes long. It must be presented to the pastor of St. Peter Claver in writing in advance of the Visitation.

General, “Music is integral to funeral rites. It allows the community to express convictions and feelings that words alone may fail to convey. It has the power to console and uplift mourners and to strengthen the unity of the assembly in faith and love. The texts of songs chosen for a particular celebration should express the paschal mystery of the Lord’s suffering, death, and triumph over death and should be related to the readings from Scripture.

Since music can evoke strong feelings, the music for the celebration rites should be chosen with great care. The music at funerals should support, console, and uplift the participants and should help to create in them a spirit of hope in Christ’s victory over death and the Christian’s share in the victory.
Music should be provided for the vigil and the funeral liturgy and, whenever possible, for the funeral processions and the rite of committal. The specific notes that precede each of these rites suggest places in the rites where music is appropriate. Many musical settings used by the parish community during the liturgical year may be suitable for use at funerals. Efforts should be made to develop and expand the parish’s repertoire for use at funerals.
An organist or other instrumentalist, a cantor, and whenever possible, even a choir should assist the assembly’s full participation in singing the songs, responses, and acclamations of these rites” (Order of Christian Funerals: General Introduction, 30-33).

Because music has such a dignified place within the funeral liturgies, at St. Peter Claver Catholic Church we presume that our Musicians will be assisting at each funeral, please see Funeral Policies and Procedures for further details. Guest musicians or cantors will be considered at the family’s request and could be incorporated into the funeral liturgy according to specific abilities and preferences of each musician or cantor.

The lists of music suitable to Catholic Funeral Liturgies are on the right. Music not appearing on these lists will be considered on an individual basis, and recorded music and secular/ popular music is never appropriate for Catholic liturgy.

For more information please call (304) 523-7311

Music Recommendations

I Know that My Redeemer Lives
Jerusalem, My Happy Home
Jesus Christ is Risen Today
Jesus, My Lord, My God, My All
Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
Lift High the Cross
Lord of All Hopefulness
Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
Make Me a Channel of Your Peace
Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory
O God our Help in Ages Past
Precious Lord, Take My Hand
Rejoice, The Lord is King
Shall We Gather at the River
Sing with All the Saints in Glory
Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God
The Church’s One Foundation
The King of Love My Shepherd Is
There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy
To Jesus Christ Our Sovereign King
We Shall Rise Again
We Walk by Faith
What Wondrous Love is This
You Are Mine
All Creatures of Our God and King
Alleluia! Sing to Jesus
Amazing Grace
Blest Are They
By All Your Saints Still Striving
Crown Him with Many Crowns
For All the Saints
Holy God We Praise Thy Name
Holy, Holy, Holy
How Can I Keep From Singing
How Firm a Foundation
I Am the Bread of Life
I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say
I Know that My Redeemer Lives
Jerusalem, My Happy Home
Jesus Christ is Risen Today
Jesus, My Lord, My God, My All
Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
Lift High the Cross
Lord of All Hopefulness
Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
Make Me a Channel of Your Peace
Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory
O God our Help in Ages Past
Precious Lord, Take My Hand
Rejoice, The Lord is King
Shall We Gather at the River
Sing with All the Saints in Glory
Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God
The Church’s One Foundation
The King of Love My Shepherd Is
There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy
To Jesus Christ Our Sovereign King
We Shall Rise Again
We Walk by Faith
What Wondrous Love is This
You Are Mine
Solos
Ave Maria (Gounod or Schubert)
Ave Verum Corpus
Day is Done
Panis Angelicus

Alleluia, Alleluia Give Thanks
At the Lamb’s High Feast
Be Joyful Mary
Christ the Lord is Risen Again
Christ the Lord is Risen Today
Come Raise the Joyful Strain
Hail the Day that Sees Him Rise
Jesus Christ is Risen Today
O Sons and Daughters
Rejoice Angelic Choirs
Sing to the Mountains
The Strife is o’er
This is the Feast of Victory

Come, O Long Expected Jesus
Comfort, Comfort , O My People
Creator of the Stars of Night
My Soul in Stillness Waits
O Come, O Come Emmanuel
On Jordan’s Bank
The King Shall Come
When the King Shall Come…

Angels, from the Realms of…
Angels We Have Heard…
Go Tell it on the Mountain
Good Christian Friends Rejoice
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Infant Holy, Infant Lowly
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
Joy to the World
Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming
O Come, All Ye Faithful
O Little Town of Bethlehem
Silent Night, Holy Night
Songs of Thankfulness and Praise
What Child is This

Psalm 23: Shepherd Me, O God
Psalm 25: To You, O Lord
Psalm 27: The Lord is My Light
Psalm 63: Your Love is Finer than…
Psalm 91: All Who Dwell…
Psalm 103: The Lord is Kind and …
Psalm 130: With the Lord there is…