Catholic Funeral Program Themes

A typical Catholic funeral program will have one theme running throughout the entire program: The cross.  The Catholic church holds the cross to be sacred and represents Christ's death on the cross for all humanity.  By displaying the cross prominently on a funeral program, the idea is conveyed that Christ's death has been applied to save the eternal life of the deceased.  He/she can only be saved through the grace of Christ.  By displaying the cross prominently, grievers are reminded that this is the case and are comforted in the fact that the deceased is saved in Christ.

A Catholic funeral program will generally include the following elements:

• Readers of first and second readings 
• Readers of General Intercessions (Prayers of the Faithful) (if desired, the priest or cantor can read these) 
• Pall bearers 
• Gift bearers (to present the bread and wine at offertory) 
• Alter servers (if applicable; normally these are provided by the parish) 
• Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion

After reading this article, take a look at my article on selecting a Funeral Program Theme.

LDS Funeral Programs

An LDS or Mormon funeral program will generally follow the same format and flow as a typical sacrament meeting, which generally consists of :

• an opening song
• an opening prayer
• welcome by presiding priesthood
• talks
• closing song
• ending with a closing prayer

When a funeral is conducted by the Bishop or Branch President, he should invite inviduals to speak and direct the program.

Music played in the chapel should be approved by the Bishop or Branch president and should be hymns or similar appropriate music.

One of the most important symbols of the LDS (mormon) religion is the temple and they tend to not display the cross too often as it is a symbol of Christ's death, not his life and resurrection.  Photos of different temples can be found all over the internet, and you can find several in just minutes. 

Other than pictures of the temple, LDS funeral programs will often display a picture of the Christus, which is a very popular and large sculpture of the savior with his arms out and palms open.

With this in mind, take a look at my article on selecting Funeral Program Themes.