Funerals

When making funeral arrangements, families should normally begin by contacting their chosen Funeral Director. The Funeral Director will liaise with the parish regarding the proposed date, time and other arrangements.

Through your Funeral Director, please contact our Parish Funeral Team Coordinator, Mrs Joy Cork, on 0429 083 770, or contact the Parish Office, to arrange the availability of the priest and the church.

Families are kindly asked not to confirm or publicly announce the date and time of the funeral until availability has been confirmed by the parish.

Once arrangements have been confirmed, the Parish Funeral Team will assist the family in preparing the funeral liturgy. This includes guidance in selecting Scripture readings, prayers, hymns and other appropriate elements of the Catholic funeral rites.

A Catholic funeral may ordinarily be celebrated within a Funeral Mass or, where appropriate, as a Funeral Liturgy without Mass. Meeting with the Parish Funeral Team will help the family prepare a celebration that is prayerful, dignified and appropriate to the circumstances.

The Catholic funeral is first and foremost an act of Christian worship and prayer. While we rightly remember and give thanks for the life of the deceased, the heart of the celebration is our faith in Jesus Christ, His Death and Resurrection, and our prayer that the deceased may be welcomed into eternal life.

We understand how difficult it can be to express a lifetime of memories and gratitude for someone we love within a few minutes. A eulogy or words of remembrance can therefore be a meaningful part of the funeral.

Within the church, however, we encourage the eulogy to be brief, personal and thoughtfully prepared. A shorter reflection highlighting the character, relationships, faith, values and significant qualities of the deceased is often more meaningful than an extended account of their life.

The primary purpose of the church celebration is to pray for the deceased, proclaim our Christian hope in the Resurrection, and surround the bereaved family with the prayer of the Church.

For this reason, longer stories, additional personal tributes, photographic presentations and the wider sharing of memories are often more appropriately included at the wake or gathering following the funeral, where family and friends have greater freedom and time to remember and celebrate the life of their loved one.

Families are respectfully asked to follow the guidance of the Parish Funeral Team regarding eulogies, music, readings, audiovisual presentations and other aspects of the church celebration. The team is there to support you and to help ensure that the funeral is celebrated with dignity, reverence and care.

Music, readings and other elements within the church should always be appropriate to the sacred and prayerful character of the Catholic funeral liturgy.

A Columbarium is available at Our Lady of Victories Church, Shortland, providing a sacred resting place for the cremated remains of the deceased.

Families who wish to reserve or use a niche in the Columbarium are asked to contact the Parish Office well in advance. A niche should be reserved and the necessary arrangements completed through the Parish Office before plans for the interment of ashes are finalised.

The Parish Office can provide information regarding niche availability, reservations, inscriptions, applicable fees and arrangements for the interment of ashes.

Our pastoral care does not end with the funeral. The parish community continues to remember and pray for those who have died and seeks to support those who mourn.

In the midst of grief, our Christian hope rests in the promise of Jesus:

At Divine Mercy Parish, it is our privilege to accompany families at this sacred and difficult time, entrusting those they love to the mercy of God and the hope of eternal life.