Msgr. Charles Pope: The ‘Dark’ Requiem Is Actually a Beacon of Hope: Finding Mercy in the Traditional Funeral Mass
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An illuminated manuscript depicts a requiem Mass. (photo: Public domain)
By Msgr. Charles Pope, National Catholic Register, November 2, 2025
Msgr. Charles Pope is currently a dean and pastor in the Archdiocese of Washington, DC, where he has served on the Priest Council, the College of Consultors, and the Priest Personnel Board. Along with publishing a daily blog at the Archdiocese of Washington website, he has written in pastoral journals, conducted numerous retreats for priests and lay faithful, and has also conducted weekly Bible studies in the U.S. Congress and the White House. He was named a Monsignor in 2005.
COMMENTARY: Finding Light in the Traditional Requiem Mass
When I was in seminary back in the mid-1980s, I was informed by some of my seminary teachers that the old funeral (requiem) Masses were a very dark affair. Black vestments and somber prayers, all focused on judgment, were supposedly an “extreme” that had to give way to a newer, brighter and hopeful funeral liturgy. While I had little or no memory of the older funeral rites from before 1965, I was dubious that the old requiem Mass could have been that bad.
Immediately after my ordination in 1989, I was permitted by my bishop to say the traditional Latin Mass under the Indult of 1987. We had several locations in the diocese, and I both knew Latin and could sing. Hence, very early on in my priesthood, I began to experience and celebrate the traditional Latin Mass, including the requiem. And I must say, I found the requiem Mass anything but dark. ….
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