We extend our deepest sympathies if you have lost a loved one and are trying to help plan a funeral.
The first step in planning a funeral should be to contact the parish office (907) 474-9032 after contacting the funeral home. The cathedral staff will coordinate with you to plan the date and time of the funeral and to set up a family meeting to plan the Funeral Liturgy.
If you would like to start the planning process, before coming to the church, you can look at the Scriputre Readings and you can fill out a planning sheet (see the tab below).
The cremated remains of a body should be treated with the same respect given to the human body from which they come. This includes the use of a worthy vessel to contain the ashes, the manner in which they are carried, and the care and attention to appropriate placement and transport, and the final disposition. The cremated remains should be buried in a grave or entombed in a mausoleum or columbarium. The practice of scattering cremated remains on the sea, from the air, or on the ground, or keeping cremated remains on the home of a relative or friend of the deceased are not the reverent disposition that the Church requires.
Ideally, if a family chooses cremation, the cremation would take place at some time after the Funeral Mass, so that there can be an opportunity for the Vigil for the Deceased in the presence of the body (during “visitation” or “viewing” at a church or funeral home). This allows for the appropriate reverence for the sacredness of the body at the Funeral Mass: sprinkling with holy water, the placing of the pall, and honoring it with incense. The Rite of Committal then takes place after cremation.
When cremation takes place before the Funeral Mass, rites are adapted and the burial and committal at the cemetary should take place directly afterwards.