Child funeral
In the Roman Catholic tradition, child burials differ in liturgy and rite from burials for adults and young people. It is based on the fact that, due to a lack of insight and reason, small children cannot commit sins and therefore do not need any intercession.
history
Since the end of the 14th / beginning of the 15th century, the Roman rite has its own liturgical order for the church funeral of children who have been baptized but who have died before they have learned to use reason. Since the child could not sin at his age, the liturgy did not provide for intercession or a Holy Mass . In the Second Vatican Council the wish was heard that "the funeral rite for children should be revised and given a separate mass (SC 82).
Liturgical form
The renewed "Ordo exsequiarum" and for the German-speaking area "The Church Burial Celebration" provide that the funeral of children is held according to one of the forms that is also intended for the burial of adults. However, the liturgy of the child burial contains its own texts. This regulation applies to a baptized child as well as to a child who died before the baptism intended by the parents. Some adjustments are planned for the second case. The measurement book contains measurement forms for both cases, which can be used depending on the situation. Miscarriages and stillbirths can also be buried as part of a liturgical mass if the parents so wish. The liturgical color of a child's funeral is traditionally white.
literature
- Christof Kracht: On the reception of the eschatology of the Gospel according to John in the current funeral liturgy for the Catholic dioceses of the German-speaking area , LIT Verlag Berlin-Hamburg-Münster, 2004, ISBN 3825878716
Web links
- The church funeral service (PDF file; 126 kB)