I'm curious? When someone dies and they make funeral preparations in the church, how many days in advance do they plan the mass in the church?

[Anonymous]

Can the deceased be buried an hour after his death or the day after he dies, or is the ceremony in the church planned weeks before?

They will think I'm weird but it's a curiosity that crossed my mind

[BCRanger10]

Funerals can come together pretty quickly. The last couple that I've been to, the person died and the funeral happened a week later, give or or take a day or two.

And it really depends on the wishes of the person and his or her family. If they want to be cremated, that has to be worked out. If not, the body has to be cleaned and embalmed. Obviously, that can all take a few days, so no, they can't be buried within the hour. Plus, family and friends will want to pay their respects at the visitation.

[Asker]

And in the case of a religious ceremony, when they are going to perform the mass, does the ceremony set aside the appointment days before? or it arises unexpectedly when it should already be buried.

[SaoirseS]

There is no set time between death and funeral services for Masses of Christian burial. It depends on availability of the church (or funeral home chapel if that's where the service will be held), availability of the priest, cemeteries' ability to schedule opening/closing a grave (for burial), and a myriad of other factors. The family makes the decisions. I've handled funerals where the person died over the weekend and the mass was held 48 hours later, and I've handled some where the family wanted it scheduled for over a week later so relatives and family who had to travel considerable distances could make it in. I've also handled a few where the funeral was held over three months after death because of wait time for Arlington National Cemetery burial.

[jennifer_bloom]

Nobody in my family or extended family is Christian other than my cousins grandma who passed away so I was never raised in Christian burial traditions.

[jshm2]

Depends on sect.

Some do it a month, others within a fortnight.