Masses for the homeless who die?

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A few weeks ago I was at my favorite coffee shop, when suddenly several police vehicles showed up, followed by fire trucks and an ambulance. They found the body of a 37 year old man by the freeway behind the coffee shop. A week or so later they revealed that it was a homeless man who probably died from a seizure. It got me thinking.

Is there a ministry which finds the name of homeless people and has a mass said for them? I would like to do so locally if it isn’t already being done, and it would be wonderful if there is a group already doing it elsewhere who could guide me. We don’t know their beliefs or their standing with God, and many don’t have family or their families are never found. They are human beings, and their souls are precious to God.

Thank you for your guidance.
 
What a lovely idea. Ill watch to see if it can be done at my parish as well:)
 
Perhaps your local cemetery can give you names of those buried in their “potter’s fields” to have Masses said for.

I am currently researching and reconstructing a list of potter’s field burials for our oldest cemetery in town so these folks will be remembered and can be prayed for.
 
Just an interesting side note. I was always taught that the 30 pieces of silver Judas was given to betray Jesus was given back by Judas to the temple priests who didn’t know what to do with it and they decided to buy a “potters field” to bury the dead who didn’t have any family.
 
How thoughtful off you. The Franciscans at St. Anthony’s Shrine on Arch Street, Boston, have a Lazurus ministry. They provide a free Mass and burial for anyone in financial need.
 
These Franciscans have a large day shelter where they feed, educate and clothe the homeless so if one of them died, they would know it. They also help them find jobs.

Sadly, a lot of the homeless are men released from prison who can’t find jobs. Young, healthy men.
 
Liturgy_Geek said:
Perhaps your local cemetery can give you names of those buried in their “potter’s fields” to have Masses said for.

I am currently researching and reconstructing a list of potter’s field burials for our oldest cemetery in town so these folks will be remembered and can be prayed for.
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That’s an awesome idea. Thank you. God bless you for the work you are doing for those who have passed.
 
jaimeleglise said:
How thoughtful off you. The Franciscans at St. Anthony’s Shrine on Arch Street, Boston, have a Lazurus ministry. They provide a free Mass and burial for anyone in financial need.
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Perhaps I should contact them. I will also ask my formation director for some guidance. I’m in formation with the Secular Franciscan Order at my parish. I’m sure my formation director or someone else from the group would be willing to help me get something started here. It would be wonderful if a local parish or parishes would offer to do it for free. I was trying to think of how I could afford to have masses said for all of them. It would be ideal if one of the parishes would do it for free, and then if someone wants to make a donation to the parish to help them out that would be awesome. I don’t want to handle any money for the effort.
 
We have a family owned funeral home here that does arrange & pays for the burial of the homeless as well as those whose families may not be able to afford a Christian burial. They also arrange & pay for the Masses at one of the local Churches. They have also erected a memorial at a Catholic cemetary here to all the babies lost to abortion.
 
Your intention can simply read “For those who have died homeless and forgotten”.
Nice to have the names, but don’t fret if you can’t obtain them/ If you say it like this, it will cause people to think about their plight, rather than Joe Smith. Our parish doesn’t permit us to say HOW a person died, just repose of the soul of fill in the blank.

Most weekends, one of the intentions is “For those who have no one to pray for them”.

God bless! Great idea. 👍
 
newcalling said:
A few weeks ago I was at my favorite coffee shop, when suddenly several police vehicles showed up, followed by fire trucks and an ambulance. They found the body of a 37 year old man by the freeway behind the coffee shop. A week or so later they revealed that it was a homeless man who probably died from a seizure. It got me thinking.

Is there a ministry which finds the name of homeless people and has a mass said for them? I would like to do so locally if it isn’t already being done, and it would be wonderful if there is a group already doing it elsewhere who could guide me. We don’t know their beliefs or their standing with God, and many don’t have family or their families are never found. They are human beings, and their souls are precious to God.

Thank you for your guidance.
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This is wonderful idea, newcalling!🙂 One thing you could do is contact your local courthouse or government building, and ask for the phone number of the “Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.” They’ll either be in charge of the coroner’s office, or they’ll actually be the coroners themselves, depending upon where you live. They may be able to give you a list of names, though I’m not positive. I would think that they would be able to give you a partial list, at least, with the understanding that some homeless people probably wouldn’t be able to be identified.

If you do manage to get a list of names, you could try to contact a local homeless activist or advocacy group and ask them to spread the news. That way the homeless could attend the mass to say goodbye to their friends and acquaintances. Flyers in windows and around town might also work, particularly if you could somehow obtain recent photographs.

Again, though, I do think it’s a wonderful idea, and entirely positive. Maybe you could start a national Catholic trend.🤷
 
Exiled_Child said:
This is wonderful idea, newcalling!🙂 One thing you could do is contact your local courthouse or government building, and ask for the phone number of the “Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.” They’ll either be in charge of the coroner’s office, or they’ll actually be the coroners themselves, depending upon where you live. They may be able to give you a list of names, though I’m not positive. I would think that they would be able to give you a partial list, at least, with the understanding that some homeless people probably wouldn’t be able to be identified.

If you do manage to get a list of names, you could try to contact a local homeless activist or advocacy group and ask them to spread the news. That way the homeless could attend the mass to say goodbye to their friends and acquaintances. Flyers in windows and around town might also work, particularly if you could somehow obtain recent photographs.

Again, though, I do think it’s a wonderful idea, and entirely positive. Maybe you could start a national Catholic trend.🤷
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Have you worked with the homeless?
Not traditional friends, they would likely never come to a Mass for another person.
Who is photographing the homeless???

It’s a good idea to have Masses for them, absolutely. But these other things likely won’t pan out.
And no one keeps a log of homeless people You might get a list form a shelter if you could show a photo, but they are largely and intentionally anonymous.
 
jaimeleglise said:
These Franciscans have a large day shelter where they feed, educate and clothe the homeless so if one of them died, they would know it. They also help them find jobs.

Sadly, a lot of the homeless are men released from prison who can’t find jobs. Young, healthy men.
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They have the balance we all need to find… Feeding as well as mass… Body and soul.

This story came out this week here…

dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-news/elderly-homeless-man-urinated-group-11684481

Wonderful lady actually doing something as well as caring…
 
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