Catholic burial at sea

[on_the_hill]

Is burial at sea permitted for Catholics?

 

[Tis_Bearself]

It’s my understanding that the Catholic Church allows burial of a body or burial of cremains at sea, as long as the body or the cremains are in a suitable container. There is even a special prayer for burials at sea.

Someone planning to be buried at sea should check with their diocese as some dioceses have their own standards.

What is NOT permitted is to be cremated and have your ashes scattered in the sea. They have to be in a suitable urn or container. Also, you cant just have your body dumped into the sea without a container.

Here’s a source:

What does the church teach about cremation and burial at sea? - Arlington Catholic Herald

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Here is a related question I have, maybe it needs a priest to answer:

In the cases where there is a wreck that sinks with crew on board and the decision is made to leave it in place at the bottom of the sea and have it serve as the final resting place for those who were trapped inside, such as the USS Arizona or the French submarine Minerve, do they get a Catholic priest to do some kind of blessing or ceremony for any Catholics who may have been on board? I presume the answer is yes, but just checking.

 

[porthos11]

Permitted?

There’s a Catholic rite for it.

 

[Sundiver]

I always thought this idea of mixing your cremated ashes with cement and settling this “Eternal Reef” to the bottom of the ocean is an elegant memorial.

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Interesting lore about Davy Jones locker involving Jonah and the whale.

For some, Davy Jones represents an infamously myopic sailor named Duffer Jones, who often fell into the sea from his ship. Another such interpretation points to the 19th-century dictionary that refers the name to a “ghost of Jonah” the biblical seaman whose name meant bad luck on to sailors. According to the Bible, God punished Jonah for his disobedience and he became the “devil of the seas,” after which the crew abroad his vessel killed him.Another version of the Jonah story refers to the prophet who happened to spent a few days inside the whale and connects his days in the tract of a whale with the Davy Jones’ Locker.

Among the Welsh seafaring community, Davy Jones refers to their patron saint – St. Davis, whom they believe is saving them from the harsh nature of the ocean. According to this legend, St. Davis will only protect the good sailors, while the immoral seafarers would be sent to Davy Jones’ Locker. Some theories also suggest that “Davy Jones” comes from the name of Duppy, the West Indian malevolent ghost. According to the lore that did rounds among the people in the islands, Duppy comes out in the night to haunt people.