Funerals are made through appointment with the Parish Office (8522 0300). It is preferable that the parish is contacted as early as possible, and speaking with the office prior to speaking with the funeral director is a preferable model. Pastoral Care, the Anointing of the Sick and the Last Rites are all able to be provided by the Parish to an individual and their family and loved ones prior to their passing, so we encourage all families to reach out to the parish office well and truly prior to the last hours of a person’s life, so that the prayerful support of the parish can occur before the preparations begin for a funeral.
Once a funeral director has been selected and the appropriate date has been arranged for the church, a preparation meeting occurs with the celebrating priest from the parish, to plan and prepare the funeral celebration.
To accommodate other parish activities and to ensure that participants do not need to travel during peak hour/school zones to get to Cronulla, Funerals at St Aloysius Church Cronulla are generally scheduled to begin at 10.30am or 11am, or in the early afternoon, at 1.30pm. Funerals can occur in St Aloysius on Tuesday (morning or afternoon) to Saturday (morning only). It is also possible, depending on whether the body will be cremated, for the funeral to occur in the late afternoon/early evening (at 5.30pm or 6.30pm).
Many families today choose to have the earthly remains cremated after the funeral service, and in these contexts, most families choose to have the funeral service in the entirety at the Church, with a solemn farewell and guard-of-honour occurring outside the church following the funeral service. Most families in Cronulla choose to not proceed to a crematorium chapel, however if this is something your family desires, the parish is more than willing to coordinate the celebrant or one of the other clergy to assist with committal prayers at a crematorium chapel.
In situations where the earthly remains are to be buried, the clergy celebrant will join the family for the funeral graveside prayers and internment, following the church service.
Internment of Ashes: The tradition of Christian burial connects us to Jesus Christ, and laying ashes to rest is an extension of this tradition. The Catholic Church requests that cremated remains are to be laid to rest or interned in a columbarium wall, as opposed to being scattered. The scattering of ashes, despite the practical concerns, can sometimes give the the impression that there is a desire to remain connected in the ocean, the river or the rose garden as opposed to a longing for the resurrection of the body and the entry into eternal life in union with Jesus Christ.
St Aloysius Parish has Columbarium Walls outside the Cronulla Church, where ashes are often laid to rest. Please contact the parish office is you are interested in obtaining a columbarium niche for yourself or your loved one.
Items for consideration in preparing for a funeral celebration:
- Who will lead the funeral celebration? Generally, one of the parish clergy (Parish Priest, Assistant Priest or Deacon) will lead all funerals at St Aloysius Cronulla, depending on availability and scheduling, as Catholics funerals are a celebration and gathering of both the family and a gathering of the local parish community. Please contact the Parish Office to begin discussions about availability of the Church and availability of one of the local clergy to assist with the funeral celebration.
- Funeral Order of Service: a template booklet for a funeral during Mass can be downloaded (female / male) and a Funeral Service Booklet outside of Mass (female / male). These booklets are a good starting point for preparing the funeral. The finer details are best arranged with the celebrant at a funeral preparation meeting, which occurs several days prior to the funeral.
- Funerals for non-Catholic Christians: Funerals are normally conducted in the Catholic Church for local Catholics, however a funeral service is possible to be held (outside of Mass) for a Christian person who is related to a Catholic.
- Use of External Clergy, previous clergy from St Aloysius and clergy friends of the family/deceased are welcome and encouraged to concelebrate funerals, and where appropriate, an external priest can be arranged to lead the celebration. Where an external priest (clergy who are not currently assigned to Cronulla parish) is to be the celebrant of the funeral, careful planning with the parish office is required to ensure that Cronulla Parish funeral arrangements/procedures are followed to allow for the safe and beautiful celebration of the funeral.
- Music for Funerals: Guidelines for selecting music
Good live music enhances a celebration and adds to the dignity and solemnity of the occasion. The Parish Office is able to assist in recommending musicians or you may wish to approach friends or other contacts about assisting with live music at the funeral. All Musicians at St Aloysius Cronulla play from the choir gallery, where there are various microphones, keyboard/organ and plenty of space for musicians to lead the congregation in worship. Musicians do not play from the sanctuary under any circumstance.
Individual speakers, tripods or personal mixers are not to be used in the Church by musicians as they create potential WHS issues, can clutter the liturgical space, can interfere with the existing church PA System, and can cause difficulties syncing music for livestreaming purposes.
Pre-recorded music can also help to draw the congregation into deeper worship. However, this can sometimes be difficult to effectively fade out (if a recorded piece is too long) and technical problems do sometimes occur (depending on the version, quality and download type of the music provided by the family).
If you are selecting pre-recorded music, the music files need to be downloaded in mp3 format, so that it can be easily played through a computer as part of the celebration. These can be emailed to the Parish Office admin@cronullacatholic.org.au for inclusion in the funeral slideshow.
Selection of Pre-recorded music: If there is a real desire to have recorded music, the selection of the music is vital and will need to be discussed with the celebrant and parish office before any decisions are made. The lyrics of songs also need careful consideration. Publicly playing copyrighted recorded music brings with it some challenges (especially for livestreaming) and these challenges should be considered as part of the decision-making process.
Questions to guide the musical selections for a funeral:
Required Music for a Funeral:
Entrance Song
Parts of the Mass (Alleluia, Holy Holy, Memorial Acclamation, Lamb of God)
Offertory Song (if a Mass)
Communion Song (If a Mass)
Visual Reflection Song (if using)
Recessional Song
A funeral is both a celebration of the life of a person, an opportunity for the community to grieve the loss of a loved one, and it is an opportunity to worship God and commend the soul to God. The music should reflect all of these realities.
1. Are the music selections prayerful?
The purpose of any Catholic liturgy, including a funeral, is first to give glory to God and to sanctify (make holy) the worshipers. The funeral music should reflect that purpose; in other words, it should help those gathered to pray and to give thanks to God.
Pop or rock songs, even those with an appropriate funeral/eternal life theme, are usually considered inappropriate for use in a Catholic funeral ceremony because they were never intended or designed to be used in the context of Christian worship. A favourite contemporary song of the deceased is best used at the wake.
2. Is the music accessible for the congregation to participate?
Put another way, will the music encourage the people to sing and pray more deeply? In Catholic worship, the congregation (all those who have come to the funeral) are meant to be involved in the singing and the worship. It is not an audience, passively watching events unfold up the front. Catholic liturgy (especially in the context of Mass) calls on the congregation to actively participate in the prayer of the Church, including its sung prayer. Doing so is one of the most powerful ways your friends and family can express their love and support for you and your family during a time of grief, and loss.
As you plan and prepare the funeral music, consider whether your friends and family will be able to sing what you have selected, and if you have provided an opportunity for them to sing. What is accessible will depend on your situation. If your family and friends are all talented musicians who speak or are capable with multiple languages, then the sky’s the limit. If they couldn’t carry a note in the shower, then better to stick with familiar well known hymns. If many of the congregation will be from other Christian faiths, you might consider choosing classic hymns widely used by many Christian denominations.
One way to encourage the congregation to sing is by providing the music or words in the funeral order of service.
3. Are the musical selections beautiful?
Beauty is a window into the divine (Catechism of the Catholic Church #32), so it is not surprising that the Church calls for the music used in its worship to be beautiful. You, our parish music ministers and parish clergy will know what funeral music will seem beautiful, given your tastes and culture.
One thing to keep in mind is that the beauty of any musical piece depends a lot on who is singing and playing it. St Augustine famously said: “Those who sing well, pray twice.”
Songs that might have seemed boring or ordinary when just accompanied by a piano or organ during the Sunday liturgy might completely come alive when accompanied by a wider variety of voices and musical instruments. One way to get an idea of what really beautiful liturgical music sounds like is to listen to professional versions of the songs. - Words of Remembrance (Eulogy)
The Catholic Funeral allows for the opportunity (although compulsory) for Words of Remembrance to be shared by a member of the family or a close friend of the deceased. These words (normally only one speaker and a maximum of 5 minutes or 500 words) occur either after the Welcoming Rites (prior to the Scripture Readings), after Holy Communion (prior to the Final Commendation), or prior to the commencement of the Funeral Service. Words of Remembrance for a Catholic Funeral are best written by considering the Christ-like qualities of the individual, and less about a telling a history of a person’s life. More lengthy speeches are best given at the wake. - Visual Reflection: St Aloysius Parish has high quality technology to assist families to display a visual reflection. This normally occurs prior to the Final Commendation. It is to be no longer than 1 song length and a maximum of 4 minutes. More lengthy visual reflections are best played at the reception/wake following the funeral. The church has a computer that is used for playing the visual reflection. The family are to provide a copy of the completed visual reflection to the parish office (at least 2 working days prior to the funeral) either in mp4 format or in Microsoft Powerpoint PPX format. The slideshow/reflection can be i) emailed to the parish office admin@cronullacatholic.org.au or ii) a link sent to a Google Drive file (if the file is beyond 20MB in size) to admin@cronullacatholic.org.au or iii) The completed slideshow is dropped to the office (prior to 2.30pm Tuesday to Friday) on a USB memory drive.
- Playing the Visual Reflection During the Funeral: The funeral directors normally assist with progressing the slideshow during the service, once it has been adequately prepared by the parish office.
- Livestreaming: St Aloysius Church has a state of the art 32 camera livestreaming system installed into the church. Livestreaming is possible for funerals (although the local volunteer operators need as much notice as possible if livestreaming is required). It is appropriate to make a donation to the volunteer livestreaming operator who assists on the day. Livestreaming is provided through the parish website: www.cronullacatholic.org.au, the parish Youtube Channel – www.youtube.com/c/cronullacatholic and the Parish Facebook Page – www.facebook.com/cronullacatholic. The use of external livestreaming companies is not permissible at St Aloysius Church as there is already a high quality system in place, and funeral directors or families are not to arrange external livestreaming companies to livestream in the church.
- FLORAL ARRANGEMENTS: Guidelines for flowers in the Church at Funerals.
The method of distribution of holy communion at funerals and at St Aloysius Church (where attendees are invited to come forward at communion time to touch the coffin and then are invited to stand across the front of the sanctuary to receive communion), coupled with WHS concerns and seasonal requirements, influences the decisions for the placement of flowers in the church for a funeral celebration.
Floral Arrangements may include the following:- Floral Arrangement on the Coffin: this floral tribute is usually placed on the coffin prior to the coffin’s arrival at the church. Depending on decisions in relation to objects to be placed on the coffin, the size of the floral tribute will need to be considered, and this can be discussed with the florists and funeral director. If the white funeral pall (garment placed over the coffin as a reminder of baptism) or the National Flag (used for military funerals) is to be used, the floral arrangement on the coffin is then removed as part of the welcoming ritual and is placed directly on the floor in front of the altar. The white funeral pall is removed prior to the Final Commendation Ritual at the Conclusion of the Service, and the Floral Arrangement on the Coffin is returned to the coffin, in preparation for the procession from the church.
- Large sanctuary arrangements – normally a maximum of two large arrangements are appropriate, and these are placed on the church supplied brass flower stands, and are situated adjacent to the large candles at the rear of the sanctuary space. Florists/funeral directors are not to bring columns/stands for flowers, and flowers are not to obstruct the space in front of the altar, either side of the altar, on the steps of the altar, or across the front of the timber sanctuary space.
- Small arrangement placed in front of the ambo/lectern – this arrangement can be placed on a small stand (provided by the church) or can sit directly on the ground in front of the place where the Scripture readings occur from. This arrangement is best in a small to medium sized glass vas.
- Arrangements in the foyer of the Church – floral arrangements are possible to be placed inside the foyer, near the rear doors of the church, close to the place where the condolence book will be signed. Floral tributes that are delivered to the church that have not been organised by the family, are placed in the foyer near the condolence signing table. Bunches of flowers with plastic or paper surrounds, are placed in the foyer and are not placed in the sanctuary.
- Floral Arrangement for a Dedication to Mary and Sacred Heart of Jesus. Some families choose to leave an offering of flowers at the Statue of Mary or the Statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (on either side of the sanctuary). This is a beautiful and ancient tradition and is encouraged by all families. These arrangements are placed on a brass stand (provided by the church) directly at the feet of the Statue.
Notes about flowers that are not permissible in St Aloysius Church at Cronulla: - Flowers during the Season of Lent – Flowers are NOT PERMITTED to be used in the Church for funerals or for other purposes during the Lenten season, as Lent is a time to focus on Christ’s passion and death in preparation for Easter. The only flowers permitted in the sanctuary during the Season of Lent at a funeral is the floral arrangement on the coffin.
Lent generally occurs during February to March (beginning on Ash Wednesday and concluding with the celebration of Easter). Check with the Parish Office (or google online) for the dates of Lent each year (as they change every year). Flowers are permissible (as above) on the Solemnity of St Patrick (March 17), Solemnity of St Joseph (March 19) and Solemnity of the Annunciation (March 25). Please further note that depending on the date of Easter and the proximity of these celebrations to Palm Sunday, these Solemnities may be transferred to a date during the Easter Season, and thus the rules of Lent with no flowers would once again apply. - Flowers placed on the altar table, on any table/plinth/column, placed on the stairs of the sanctuary, or placed on the floor: St Aloysius Church does not permit floral arrangements to be placed on the church altar table, on the floor or steps of the sanctuary, on tables or plinths, and floral arrangements should not obstruct the safe movement around the sanctuary space nor should the flowers obstruct the view of anyone attending the service. If floral tributes are delivered to the church by friends, colleagues or family members of the deceased, these are best placed in the foyer of the church adjacent to the condolences signing table and are not to be placed on the floors/steps of the sanctuary.
- Floral arrangements using words of a person’s name: The Catholic funeral service is primarily to pray for the deceased and to commend their soul to God. The use of any floral arrangements of a person’s name or title, for example Nonna, Pop, or any other word or symbol, although it may be beautiful, may also remove the focus from the worship of God and the Eucharistic celebration that occurs around the altar, and may reduce the ease of mobility around the sanctuary space.
- Rose petals and other confetti: The Parish does not permit petals or any other confetti to be spread or thrown anywhere in the church or on the church premises (including the exterior grounds).
