Questions about funerals

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WildCatholic

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I’ve always wondered this. Obviously the body and its clothes should be tasteful, but does a person have to be buried in a suit. For example, what if a child died and wanted to be buried in his little league uniform, or something like that. Also, is it wrong to bury people with non religious items or to have a casket that isn’t just a regular casket (for example a casket with the logo of your favorite sports team). Does the church take any positions on these issues. I have a hard time seeing a priest approving someone being buried in a Green Bay Packers casket wearing a green and gold suit.
 
I don’t think there’s any ruling on any of it. So long as a persons human dignity is respected, their body is given the honors of a temple of the Holy Spirt…and even though we can “personalize” a funeral to help us remember the individual…CHrist and His saving and merciful work must be at the forefront.
 
WildCatholic said:
I’ve always wondered this. Obviously the body and its clothes should be tasteful, but does a person have to be buried in a suit. For example, what if a child died and wanted to be buried in his little league uniform, or something like that. Also, is it wrong to bury people with non religious items or to have a casket that isn’t just a regular casket (for example a casket with the logo of your favorite sports team). Does the church take any positions on these issues. I have a hard time seeing a priest approving someone being buried in a Green Bay Packers casket wearing a green and gold suit.
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No, it does not have to.

Depend on what non-religous item and why it is buried with the deceased. Is it buried together because of belief or superstition? That would be a no no. Otherwise should not be a problem. But then again, what non-religous items?

Not very sure about the casket though but goodness, is there such thing as a reuglar casket? Some of these can be cultural.
 
There are certain ‘proper forms’ to a Catholic funeral, i.e. the use of music should be liturgical or religious in context, etc (no pop music, for example) but as to the clothing of the deceased, that is up to the family and there are many different types of casket or coffin that can be obtained, although clearly one with sacrilegious decorations should be avoided.

I do remember seeing photos of an undertaker’s workshop somewhere in Africa where ‘novelty’ coffins were manufactured in the shape of aeroplanes or busses or other non-traditional shapes. I’m not quite sure how such a thing would be accommodated in a Catholic church, but should anyone have any wishes towards that end, they might be best advised to have a word with the presiding priest in advance of making that choice, just in case it would cause an expensive problem…
 
WildCatholic said:
I’ve always wondered this. Obviously the body and its clothes should be tasteful, but does a person have to be buried in a suit. For example, what if a child died and wanted to be buried in his little league uniform, or something like that. Also, is it wrong to bury people with non religious items or to have a casket that isn’t just a regular casket (for example a casket with the logo of your favorite sports team). Does the church take any positions on these issues. I have a hard time seeing a priest approving someone being buried in a Green Bay Packers casket wearing a green and gold suit.
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As far as I know the Church has never spoken on this.

I don’t think I’ve ever attended a funeral where the casket was open, so what the corpse is dressed in is moot. How you dress the deceased is cultural or personal. Many men don’t own a suit and the idea that the family might have to have this added expense doesn’t make sense.

I’ve been to a wake for a funny man who used to be our local meteorologist. He was dressed in a Grinch t-shirt. I don’t think anyone thought that was disrespectful, it was close to Christmas and that was just the type of person he was.

As for the casket, well, if it’s draped with the pall you don’t see it so it doesn’t matter if it’s the colour of your favorite team.
 
Reuben_J said:
No, it does not have to.

Depend on what non-religous item and why it is buried with the deceased. Is it buried together because of belief or superstition? That would be a no no. Otherwise should not be a problem. But then again, what non-religous items?
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For example, i’ve heard of people (at non catholic funerals, obviously) who were buried with cans of PBR, or buried in their car. I wonder if those kind of things would be allowed?
 
My friend Matthew said several times, “Bury me in my running clothes because I may have to run from the devil” and that’s exactly what his family did.

-Tim-
 
I don’t see how a suit would be required at all. Although I haven’t been to an open casket funeral for quite sometime, so I have no idea what people have done there. My father was cremated in the clothes he died in.
 
Recently a woman in my Parish died from cancer she was mid eighties I believe and her husband told them to make sure she had on her red lipstick and in her casket they put a picture of the son she lost 20 or 25 years before He was a police officer who was killed in the line of duty.
 
As far as caskets are concerned, if someone is to have a Catholic funeral the casket would have to be something that can be transported into a church. That would mean that people who wish to be buried in their Cadillac might have to wait until after the funeral to drive off to the afterlife. Unless, of course, there is special access and wide aisles in that Church.
 
WildCatholic said:
For example, i’ve heard of people (at non catholic funerals, obviously) who were buried with cans of PBR, or buried in their car. I wonder if those kind of things would be allowed?
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If it is because of belief like having a car to drive in the next life, then it is not allowed. I was thinking perhaps the person died in a car accident where it is impossible to prise the body out without mutilating it even further, probably that may happen, though it is quite bizarre and I have not heard that done. But a priest has the right to refuse a funeral service if burying non-religous items in anyway means associating them with pagan or non-Christian belief.
 
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