Catholic Wake Service: The Vigil, Its Order, and the Program

A Catholic funeral has three parts: the vigil, the funeral Mass, and the committal. The wake is the first. It is held the evening before the Mass, at the funeral home or in the church, and it is the least formal of the three, which is why families are often unsure what it should contain. The Church's name for it is the Vigil for the Deceased, and it has an order, but it also has room: for the rosary, for remembrances, and for the long line of people who come to stand with the family.

What happens at a wake

Most wakes have three layers, and the program should say which are planned:

• Visitation. Two to four hours in which people come, pay their respects at the casket or the urn, and speak with the family. This is the "calling hours" or "viewing".
• The vigil service. Twenty to thirty minutes of prayer, led by a priest, a deacon or a lay minister, usually in the middle or at the end of the visitation.
• The rosary. A devotion, not part of the vigil rite itself, but prayed at a great many wakes, led by a family member, a parish rosary group, or the minister. It can come before or after the vigil service, or stand in for it where no minister is available.

The order of the vigil service

Greeting  ·  the minister welcomes everyone and names the person
Opening song or hymn
Opening prayer
First reading  ·  from the Old or New Testament, read by a family member or friend
Responsorial psalm  ·  often Psalm 23 or Psalm 27
Gospel reading  ·  read by the minister
Homily or reflection  ·  brief
Prayer of intercession  ·  a litany, with a response said by all
The Lord's Prayer
Concluding prayer
Blessing
Remembrances  ·  family and friends speak, if the family wishes
Closing song

The minister chooses from set options for the prayers; the family chooses the readings, the readers, and the music, as at the Mass. Ask the parish for its list of readings; most will also let you use a favourite poem at the remembrances, which is not permitted at the Mass.

Why the eulogy belongs here

At a funeral Mass, words of remembrance are limited: one speaker, briefly, and some parishes allow none. The vigil is where the Church intends the stories to be told. Plan the remembrances for the wake: two or three named speakers, a few minutes each, and an open invitation afterwards if the family wants one. It is also where a slideshow or music that would be out of place at Mass belongs.

Where the rosary fits

If the rosary is to be prayed, decide when and who leads, and put it on the program so people know whether to arrive for it. Five decades take about twenty minutes. Many families pray the Sorrowful Mysteries at a wake; others choose the mysteries of the day. Print the prayers: some present will not know them, and the rosary is the moment many of them most want to join.

What the wake program contains

A wake program is usually a single sheet, separate from the Mass booklet, or a page inside the funeral program when one booklet serves all three days.

1. Their name, photograph and dates on the front.
2. The times: visitation hours, when the rosary is prayed, when the vigil service begins.
3. The order of the vigil service, with readers' names.
4. The rosary, if prayed: which mysteries, and the Hail Mary, Our Father and Glory Be in full for those who do not know them.
5. The names of those giving remembrances.
6. The time and place of the funeral Mass the next day, and of the committal.

The program wording guide gives the exact lines, and the Catholic funeral Mass guide covers the second day in full.

Practical things

• Receiving line. The immediate family stands near the casket; it is tiring. Plan for someone to relieve them, and for water and chairs.
• A guest book at the door. Families read it for years.
• Photographs on boards or a screen; the wake is where they belong.
• Food is not served at the funeral home itself, usually, but a gathering at a home afterwards is common. Say so on the program if guests are invited.