What's the point of a Catholic funeral?

[abcdxyz]

I am a Catholic convert as of three years ago. I have never wanted a funeral when I pass (not that it’s my problem at that point!). Are Catholics required to have a church funeral? I’d prefer to have my remains cremated and buried with no fanfare.

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

The point of a Catholic funeral is to pray for the repose of the soul of the deceased, not to engage in showy “fanfare.” Please believe me, by the time you are deceased, you will indeed want prayers for the repose of your soul!

Funerals need not be extravagant. You can sit down with your pastor and a local funeral director to plan out a simple, dignified ritual that both prepares you for the immediate presence of God and that treats your bodily remains (cremated, if you wish) with the care they deserve as a temple of the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, mere cremation and then disposal in a plot with no prayer or other ritual at all, treats the body and the person as “disposable waste.”