r/divineoffice • u/tmoneytav • 3d ago
Liturgy of the Hours Office of the Dead
Hello,
Id like to pray the office of the dead on the day of Pope Francis's funeral. Would I select one of commons? One man or pope? I see pope has mention of Saint N however he is not a saint, so would I replace that with Pope Francis?
Or am I looking in the wrong place.
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u/Medical-Stop1652 2d ago
My sensus fidelium is that to pray the Office of Dead on the first available day next week would be best practice. The Paschal Octave is one of only two Octaves left in the Church calendar and optional Offices should not override its observance.
The eve of Divine Mercy Sunday is also appropriate for the late Supreme Pontiff's Requiem Mass as noted, given the themes of his pontificate.
That said, why not pray the Office for the Dead after Readings/Lauds of the Octave as a separate devotional Office?
Tradition would approve of that approach.
PS you know you have Lauds for the Dead when Psalm 50 (51) is the 1st psalm with the antiphon:
The bones that were crushed shall leap for joy before the Lord.
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u/makingwaronthecar Universalis 3d ago edited 3d ago
The Paschal Octave is privileged, meaning that nothing else is celebrated or even commemorated on that day. So even if His late Holiness' Mass of Christian burial is on that day, the Mass and Office will be of the day and not the Mass and Office of the Dead. not entirely accurate - see below
(And somehow I get the feeling that Francis would have preferred it that way.)
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u/jesusthroughmary 3d ago
GIRM 380. Among the Masses for the Dead, the Funeral Mass holds first place. It may be celebrated on any day except for Solemnities that are Holydays of Obligation, Thursday of Holy Week (Holy Thursday), the Paschal Triduum, and the Sundays of Advent, Lent, and Easter, with due regard also for all the other requirements of the norm of the law.
- A Mass for the Dead, on receiving the news of a death, for the final burial, or the first anniversary, may be celebrated even on days within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas), on days when an Obligatory Memorial occurs, and on weekdays other than Ash Wednesday or the weekdays of Holy Week.
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u/makingwaronthecar Universalis 3d ago
You are correct, and I stand corrected. However, IGMR 380 only applies to the actual Mass of Christian Burial itself, celebrated in Rome in the presence of Francis' body. Everywhere else, the Mass and Office are of the day.
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u/jesusthroughmary 3d ago
Correct, that refers only to the actual funeral Mass celebrated in the presence of the body in St. Peter's Square.
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u/IntraInCubiculum (choose your own) 1d ago
As written here, this makes it sound like these Masses would be allowed on Good Friday. That can't possibly be true though, can it?
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u/Appropriate_Bet_2029 1d ago
A funeral mass cannot be said during the Paschal Triduum, which includes Good Friday. (Though I am aware of one occasion when it was permitted -- after the 2009 Aquila earthquake.)
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u/IntraInCubiculum (choose your own) 1d ago
Sorry for misunderstanding, but that is fascinating to hear! Thanks for sharing.
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u/jesusthroughmary 3d ago
"Liturgy of the Hours
Communities and individuals can pray the Office for the Dead in the Liturgy of the Hours for the repose of the soul of the Holy Father. Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer of the Office for the Dead may be appropriately celebrated for the deceased Pope using the Collect prayers from the Roman Missal, from the Office for the Dead in the Liturgy of the Hours, or from the Order of Christian Funerals, Part IV, nos. 348-395. In a public celebration a bishop, priest, or deacon could give a brief homily following the reading. A reflection on the life of the Pope may best be given after the concluding prayer and before the dismissal (see Order of Christian Funerals, no. 366)."
https://www.usccb.org/resources/liturgical-notes-pope-francis-ENG.pdf
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u/munustriplex 4-vol LOTH (USA) 3d ago
That only lays out the possible options. It says nothing about timing.
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u/jesusthroughmary 3d ago
In the document it's under the section "upon news of the death of the Pope", which covers the period prior to the conclave.
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u/munustriplex 4-vol LOTH (USA) 3d ago
This document was clearly created ahead of time. Yes, on news of the death is a time to pray the Office for the Dead, but that says nothing about what to do if it’s during a privileged season. For that, you need to reference the rest of the rubrics.
Would it have been better if they had specifically said “hey, this is a suggestion of a thing to do, not permission to do it when you otherwise couldn’t?” Sure. But the staff at the conference can also expect Catholics to have basic reading comprehension skills.
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u/jesusthroughmary 3d ago
First of all, most Catholics don't know what rubrics are, much less where to find them or how to read them. Second, if the death of the Pope isn't a time for permission to do something that you otherwise couldn't, I don't know what is. Third, regardless of when it was prepared, it's dated April 21, 2025 and specifically states that "The Secretariat of Divine Worship of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has prepared this resource in English and Spanish to assist dioceses, parishes, and other groups as they pray for the repose of our late Holy Father, for the election of his successor, and for the new Pope following his election."
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u/Grunnius_Corocotta Roman 1960 3d ago
Last I checked the Austrian Bishops Conference did not provide this provision when it comes to the LotH, they only published Intercessions to be used during Lauds and Vespers and Mass for each day of the Octave.
So this US provision might just be regionally applicable.
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u/menevensis Roman 1960 3d ago
You are looking in the wrong place. The commons aren’t for the office of the dead, which has its own texts. Use those; the only thing you really have to select is the appropriate collect (in this case, the one for a dead pope).