What exactly is a Requiem Mass?

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I don’t really know where to put this. I feel like there should be a “Liturgy” section on here. I don’t think this really belongs in Traditional Catholicism, but I think those folks might know about this.

So, I went to a Catholic funeral a few months ago. There was no mention that it was a “Requiem Mass”. I’ve just been reading about a public servant who died, who was Catholic, and most of the news stories seemed to make a special point of mentioning that his funeral was a Requiem Mass.

What is a Requiem Mass? Is it different from a regular Catholic funeral? Or are all Catholic funerals Requiem Masses? [Bc something tells me that they probably aren’t]
And if so, what makes a Requiem Mass different?
 
Requiem is the first word of the Gregorian chant that used to be sung at funeral masses. It means rest. A funeral mass is a requiem mass, we just don’t use that word any more.

Liturgy & Sacraments is the 6th forum down.
 
Ah! thank you on both counts!
I’m a new member, and a long time watcher of these forums, and I’ve never seen it there! Thanks again 👍
 
When I was in grade school we had a children’s choir and members got out of classes sometimes to sing at the Requiem Masses. It was in Latin and the music was very solemn and beautiful.
 
Bonnie said:
OK - I’ve been to a lot of Catholic funerals & I haven’t heard the word used.
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It is still called a Requiem Mass. It’s simply a Mass for the Dead and isn’t limited to funerals.

Even in the Ordinary Form the Introit still begins with Requiem aeternam.
 
Bonnie said:
OK - I’ve been to a lot of Catholic funerals & I haven’t heard the word used.
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By and large, you are correct. For those of us who still have occasion to speak in Latin, we employ the term as it is a simple construction. That aside, I find the term is used mostly by those who are attached to the vetus ordo. It is quite correctly applied when a funeral is done using those liturgical texts. It is also a term one encounters in sacred music, such as the Mozart Requiem. But in terms of popular usage? Not in the novus ordo…it’s the Mass of Christian Burial or, more simply, “the funeral Mass”.

The options for the entrance antiphon for the Mass of Christian Burial are more than just the introit of the vetus ordo. “Masses for the Dead” is a broader term and is a category that includes texts one would not use for the funeral liturgy.

One still encounters the term from time to time in the secular media, rather like other liturgical terms which are no longer in favour. I had two amusing encounters with the American news media and their English language reporting. One involved the visit to the Vatican of Her Serene Highness, the Princess of Monaco. There was a report about how she was attired for the private audience…it concluded with the declaration that the Pope was clad in his normal “white gown”…a term I more readily associate with debutantes or hospital patients The other instance was reading of the passing of a person together which went on to note that a Catholic priest came to “read him his last rights.” It rather reminded me of American police dramas…at least those of a certain vintage that I remember.
 
porthos11 said:
It is still called a Requiem Mass. It’s simply a Mass for the Dead and isn’t limited to funerals.
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That may depend on where you are. I’ve been to Catholic funerals in both Oregon & Washington & they were not called Requiem Masses.
porthos11 said:
Even in the Ordinary Form the Introit still begins with Requiem aeternam.
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Do you mean in Latin or in English?
 
Don_Ruggero said:
By and large, you are correct. For those of us who still have occasion to speak in Latin, we employ the term as it is a simple construction.
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The amount of Latin I know could fit in a thimble. 🙂

But my husband, on the other hand, is a Latin teacher. I’ve decided that if he dies first, I’ll tell the priest to put as much Latin into the funeral as he can - Walt would appreciate it. Now I’ll also add that his funeral should be called a Requiem Mass. 🙂
 
Bonnie said:
That may depend on where you are. I’ve been to Catholic funerals in both Oregon & Washington & they were not called Requiem Masses.

Do you mean in Latin or in English?
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Both.

In English of course it’s “Eternal Rest” but we always call Masses after their Latin incipits.

We may not hear them referred as such, but they are Requiem Masses.

Of course, you’re more likely to hear an Entrance Hymn, so we often lose the Introit, which is a pity, I think.
 
I served at a Requiem Mass this afternoon. It was called a Requiem, not a funeral Mass. As for what it is, there are two kinds. A funeral with communion is the first kind (it is also possible to have a funeral service without communion). The second is a regular Mass offered for the intention of someone who has died.
 
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