Funerals
When a loved one or friend has passed, please contact the parish priest as soon as possible by telephone. Please call the parish office and speak to the secretary during office hours, or leave a message on the emergency line after hours by calling (704) 549-1607 and pressing the number 8. Please leave the name and age of the deceased, a contact number for the family, and where they can visit with you in the coming hours. A meeting will then be set up to plan the funeral arrangements.
Funeral planning typically takes place during a meeting between the priest or deacon who will be presiding over the funeral rites and family members of the deceased. If a funeral home is involved, they will assist the family in arranging this meeting. If a funeral home is not involved, the family should contact the parish office by calling (704) 549-1607 to schedule a meeting to make the necessary arrangements.
People and families are welcome to download the
Funeral Planning Sheet to begin the planning process prior to meeting with the priest or deacon who will preside over the funeral rites. No funeral planning is finalized until after a meeting with the presider of the funeral. As well, the following
Funeral Information Sheet is a helpful guide.
As you make preparations with the clergy of St. Thomas Aquinas, you may find the following resources helpful.
Fees and Offerings
We appreciate you allowing us to provide this Funeral Mass for your loved one. Fees and offerings for the funeral staff are as follows:
Musician’s fees:
The musician fee for funerals is $250.
Choral Music
At times of loss, the great choral music and Gregorian chant of the Church is an immense source of beauty and consolation. This can be provided by the addition of a small choir, often with as few as four singers.
The cost is most reasonable. Please consult the Director of Sacred Music if you would be interested in this possibility.
Guest Musicians
Competent musicians, family members or friends of the family, are most welcome to minister at the Funeral Mass.
If you desire to use musicians other than the Director of Sacred Music, please note the following:
- Please have them read these music guidelines and abide by them.
- All music selections need to be approved by the Director of Sacred Music.
- Whether the Director of Sacred Music plays or not, the normal organist fee of $150 is required. The Director of Sacred Music is still responsible, along with the Pastor, for any and all liturgical music that is done at the parish, and as such, spends time and expertise in assuring that the guidelines for liturgical music are being met.
Optional Offerings
A frequently asked question pertains to honorariums, otherwise known as offerings. The local custom is an amount similar to that which is given to the organist.
Contacts
Music Contact: Mara DeLuca, 704-549-1607, Ext. 205 Email the Director of Sacred Music & Liturgical Events
Readings Contact: Fr. Codd or Fr. Raymond, & Rosa Jimenez, 704-549-1607, Ext. 210
The Church through its funeral rites commends the dead to God’s merciful love and pleads for the forgiveness of their sins. At the funeral rites, especially at the celebration of the Eucharistic sacrifice, the Christian community affirms and expresses the union of the Church on earth with the Church in heaven in the one great communion of saints. Though separated from the living, the dead are still at one with the community of believers on earth and benefit from their prayers and intercession. At the rite of final commendation and farewell, the community acknowledges the reality of separation and commends the deceased to God. In this way it recognizes the spiritual bond that still exists between the living and the dead and proclaims its belief that all the faithful will be raised up and reunited in the new heavens and a new earth, where death will be no more.
~Order of Christian Funerals, 6