Please contact the respective Parish Office to have a Mass offered for your loved one.

Mass is a space where we all gather to pray. We pray as a community for one another, for the church and for all those most in need of God’s mercy, grace and peace. Part of the prayer of the priest is they offer the Mass for a specific intention. These special intentions are often in memorial of a loved one who has died, or as an intercession for one who is sick. Many try to have a “Mass said” for their parents around the anniversaries of their deaths. Some have a Mass said for their wedding anniversary or in celebration of miraculous healing.

This tradition of having a special prayer intention for the Mass dates to the second century. Each Sunday, when possible, the Mass intentions for one of the Masses is to be offered for the Parish. The focus of the liturgy has multiple layers of prayer with the intention being like a program running in the background. When the Mass is being offered for a loved one, try to attend the Liturgy. It feels like a grace-filled moment to have connected those prayers to the prayer of the Church.

We encourage you to consider two practical implications: One, listen for the intention Mass during the Universal prayer or read in the bulletin who the Mass is offered for and indeed pray for that intention. And the second is to remember that you are welcome to request a special Mass intention. You can do this through the parish offices. While there is a customary stipend of five dollars often given, it is not necessary if one cannot afford it. Mass stipends do not go to the priest, they are used to provide materially for the Mass, like for candles or bread and wine.  Most importantly, when you ask for a Mass to be offered for a special intention, you invite the body of Christ to pray with you.