Dear Catholic Exchange:
Can you tell me if this is now or ever was the “norm”?
At Catholic Funerals the casket is placed at the foot of the altar and draped in a pall. Which way is the coffin “headed”? Is it “as if the lay person could be set upon his feet from the position the coffin is in so that the person would be facing the altar”? But, if a clergyman, “as if the clergyman could be set upon his feet from the position the coffin is in so that the person would be facing the people assembled”?
Also what is the proper attire for a deceased Permanent Deacon in his coffin?
Roger Polt
Dear Mr. Polt:
According to Catholic tradition, laymen are brought in feet first and clergymen brought in head first — just as you describe in your question. That is still the norm.
A permanent deacon should be placed in the casket dressed in the garb proper to a deacon, i.e., fully vested for Mass, including a dalmatic.
In pace Christi,
Father Augustine Tran
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