Can a Priest attend his father's funeral Mass without being a concelebrant?

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SanRafael1102

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If a priest’s parent passes away, and the priest is allowed to travel to attend the funeral, does he have to be a celebrant or cocelebrant at the Mass.

I imagine many priests would feel honored or happy to be the one officiating the service, but what if an individual priest was taking the death particularly hard, or due to travel distance could only arrive at the Church 10 minutes before the funeral, ergo he couldn’t prepare?

I know that I’ve heard people who are more knowledgeable than I say that if a priest in good standing visits another priest’s parish (with permission of the bishop of course), that he should at least offer to cocelebrate instead of sitting out in the pews. I don’t know how much, if any, truth exists in that.
 
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No he does not. And a priest does not have to offer to concelebrate a mass either if he is visiting a church.
 
He can sit in the congregation or he may offer the Mass. Both are completely valid and are his personal choice. I’ve seen it done both ways.
 
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