The Guidelines for Funeral Director
The role of the Funeral Liturgy in the Catholic Church
The Christian funeral is a liturgical celebration of the Church. The ministry of the Church in this instance aims at expressing efficacious communion with the deceased, at the participation in that communion of the community gathered for the funeral, and at the proclamation of eternal life into the community. (Catechism of the Catholic Church n.1680)
In the Catholic Church, the liturgical elements are given through the Order of Christian Funerals which states appropriate prayers, readings and rubrics for the upkeep of the liturgy in this important occasion.
A Catholic Funeral can take place in two forms – a Mass of Christian Burial, or a Funeral Service consisting of a Liturgy of the Word, Prayers of Intercession and the Final Commendation. It is the role of the celebrant of the funeral to assist the family in planning with the appropriate readings, prayers and music for the occasion.
Requesting a Funeral in St Mary’s Cathedral
No arrangements or undertakings about date and time, format and content of the Funeral can be made without prior consultation, agreement, and approval of Cathedral authorities.
Please be aware that Funerals are generally held within the parish of the deceased. Funerals in the Cathedral are approved based on this precedence, or if the deceased has a connection with the Cathedral or has a particular circumstance suggesting it.
If the deceased is not a parishioner of St Mary’s Cathedral, you are in the first instance directed back to the families’ local parish priest to commence arrangements. St Mary’s Cathedral staff can assist you to find the contact details of the families’ local parish if you should require.
Funeral directors are asked to contact the Cathedral Office as soon as possible after an initial consultation with the family. At the time of initial contact, the Funeral Request Form will be sent to the funeral director which will need to be completed and returned with the appropriate information in order to seek approval. The booking request will be reviewed as soon as possible by the Dean and with the various stakeholders.
Please note this may take up to 24 hours to receive confirmation.
Order of Service
It is the role of the celebrant of the funeral to work with the family in choosing the readings and prayers for the occasion, however the Cathedral Dean or his delegate must approve the draft of any funeral liturgy booklet before it goes to print.
Celebrants
Catholic Clergy are welcome to celebrate Catholic Funerals within the Cathedral. If the clergy are not a member of the Archdiocese of Sydney, it is essential that the appropriate accreditation protocols are followed, which can be found at http://sydarch.org.au/safeguarding-and-child-protections.asp.
If the family requests for a member of the Cathedral clergy to celebrate the funeral, a request should be made from the family direct to the Cathedral office.
Music
Music at the Cathedral must conform to sacred liturgical music and must be performed by members of the Cathedral’s Music Department. We do not allow pre-recorded music in any part and secular music is not acceptable.
The Cathedral Music Department must arrange and approve for any music to be sung or played within the Funeral. As is the case with any liturgy within the Cathedral, the Music department will arrange for a cantor and/or organist for the funeral. A choir may also be booked if requested. Secular music and recorded music is not permitted within the Cathedral for funerals.
It is requested that contact is made with the Music Administrator as soon as practicable after the initial meeting.
Rules around the Copyright of Music
The majority of music, which is played and sung at St Mary’s Cathedral, is copyright free.
As it is the responsibility of St Mary’s Cathedral to hold the copyright licence (since all music is performed and produced here onsite), the following actions and processes must be adhered to:
- Only pre-approved music from the Cathedral’s own repertoire can be played as per the copyright agreement
- Should other music be requested to be played (i.e. music outside of the cathedrals own repertoire), they must first seek the approval of the Cathedral’s Music Director and then the Music Director will seek copyright for that piece of music at the cost of the third party
- Should an individual request a copy/recording of a special service (e.g.: special Mass, school Mass, Wedding, Funeral etc.) for their own purposes, any music which falls under copyright must be deleted from the recording.
St Mary’s Cathedral holds a CCLI licence which covers live music performed as part of a religious service within St Mary’s Cathedral. This licence also covers the live streaming (by St Mary’s Cathedral) of services, and the music performed (mostly!).
Regarding the issue of copyright over any music which is sung or performed as part of a livestream or recording.
- The general rule is that a piece of music is in the public domain if it is over 70 years since the death of the author/composer or the date of first publication of the lyrics/composition. So copyright permission is not required in these cases.
- The Church streaming license permits livestreaming or making a recording of Mass available only on the website or social media platform of the licensee – for instance, where St Mary’s Cathedral has a streaming license it can livestream or place a recording of Mass on its website or Facebook page but not on another parish’s page or even on the Archdiocese’s page.
- Should anybody wish to record (video) any live performance within St Mary’s Cathedral and make it available online they will need to obtain a licence from APRA/AMCOS. If this is a recording of a live performance, they will also need the written permission of all performers to record their performance. They should let the performers know exactly how the recording is going to be used.
The Performers Rights include:
- The right to control whether or not their performance is recorded or communicated online.
- The right to decide how the recording of their performance is used.
- Ownership of copyright in any sound recordings of their live performance
- Moral rights relating to their performance.
A performance as defined in the Copyright Act includes both dramatic and musical performance as well as public lectures, conferences and speeches.
You do not necessarily need to get consent from members in the audience/congregation who might incidentally be included in the recording. However, it is recommended that you inform members of the audience that the event will be recorded so that individuals can request that they not be photographed, filmed or otherwise recorded.
If you are recording your event and the event includes third party copyright material for example music, films or images, either you or the presenter will need to ensure that they have the necessary rights to use the material and allow it to be included in the recording.
Flowers & Displays
Each week, the Cathedral receives multiple arrangements of flowers in accordance with the liturgical season.
Flower arrangements are permitted to be brought into the Cathedral and placed near the coffin on the floor of the Cathedral. Floral arrangements should be in line with the aesthetic of St Mary’s Cathedral as a sacred place of worship, and the Main Altar area remains clearly visible to the congregation.
The Cathedral cannot provide plinths or vases for these arrangements. It is the responsibility of the funeral director to ensure that florists are made aware of this and clean up any arrangements following the funeral.
Other decorative, religious or cultural symbols or displays or symbols need to be approved by the Cathedral in consultation with the family of the deceased.
Seating Capacity
Funerals may be held in the Nave, Lady Chapel or Crypt with the following capacity
| Cathedral | 1200 (approx) |
| Lady Chapel | 60 (approx) |
| Crypt | 200 |
Photography
The use of photography within the Cathedral is only given through permission from the Cathedral staff (please send email request to: [email protected]). If granted, it must be discreet and not be intrusive to the family and those in attendance. Photographers and videographers are not permitted to access the Sanctuary at any stage during an event or special service. Flash photography is not permitted within the Cathedral.
Where permission is granted to more than one photographer to take photos at the service, they may be confined to the ‘media pit’ so as to control movement and not disturb or interrupt the service.
Equipment
Please note the equipment allowed/not allowed on the Cathedral site is as follows:
- Maximum 3 x tripods
- No additional lighting
- No hand held reflector
No other equipment/infrastructure is permitted.
Use of any additional equipment (including, but not limited to, laptops, props, tables) will breach the conditions of consent to film or photograph at St Mary’s Cathedral and may result in your removal from St Mary’s Cathedral site.
Vision & Live Streaming
The Cathedral has monitors which display vision during a Liturgy to areas that do not have direct line of sight. Depending on the size of service or event, a St Mary’s Cathedral vision operator may be required to control the camera vision around the Cathedral.
The Cathedral does have the capacity to play a slideshow of photographs (no audio) prior to the funeral on its TV monitors. The installation of additional TV screens/monitors is not permitted. The Cathedral can also arrange for the service to be live streamed on YouTube for guests who cannot attend the service. This will be setup as a private link and details passed onto the funeral director for dissemination.
Parking
Funeral directors are requested to park the hearse and mourning cars in the ‘Funeral vehicles’ allocated street parking outside the College Street door (opposite Hyde Park).
The Cathedral does not offer any on-site spaces of parking for family members, or those attending the funeral within the Cathedral grounds. Guests are directed to either the Enacon Parking Station (underneath the Cathedral Square), or the Domain Car Park.
Accessibility
The Cathedral does offer wheelchair and/or disability access via an entrance located at the rear (northern end) of the Cathedral. Please follow the signage directions given at each door to the Cathedral, alternatively please contact the office to notify ahead of time.
Arrival & Departure Procedures
- Funeral directors are asked to arrive 45min-1hr prior to the commencement of the funeral. This ensures that the Cathedral staff, clergy and those working on the funeral can be briefed prior to the arrival of guests.
- Upon arrival, the funeral conductor must seek permission from the celebrant or Cathedral staff before bringing the coffin inside the Cathedral. It is custom that the celebrant would lead the entrance of the deceased into the Cathedral.
- The funeral director is requested to have staff on the three entrances of the Cathedral with tables (if needed) to greet people as they arrive and to pass on any booklets or cards that the family may wish to provide to those attending.
- At the conclusion of the funeral, the funeral director and staff may need to assist the celebrant with the Rite of Farewell – especially in regard to the delivery of incense and holy water. The Cathedral sacristan will alert the staff if this duty is needed.
- The departure from the Cathedral is via the Western door (College St).
- Once the final blessing and sprinkling with Holy Water has occurred at the hearse, the staff of the funeral director are asked to remove any items, flowers, symbols etc… from the Cathedral promptly. The Cathedral does not store items.
Privacy & Sensitivities
Due to the nature of some situations, if requested, the Cathedral will not publicise or respond to enquiries regarding the funeral or its details. Please alert the Cathedral upon enquiry if this is the case.
Media Attendance
Media are not permitted inside the Cathedral unless permission has been granted. It is important that families and funeral staff are aware of this so as to ensure privacy and respect for those who are attending.
Schedule of Charges
General
This Cathedral donation is waived if the deceased is a member of the Cathedral parish.
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |
| Cathedral donation To recover the costs of staff, resources and liturgical items | $1210.00 | $1245.00 | $1275.00 |
Musicians
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |
| Organist | $570.00 | $585.00 | $600.00 |
| Soloist | $495.00 | $510.00 | $522.00 |
| Choir | $3650.00 | $3760.00 | $3854.00 |
Audio/Visual
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |
| Audio visual resource fee Includes vision operator and vision on the Cathedral screens | $600.00 + GST | $620.00 + GST | $635.00 + GST |
| Web stream cost | $150.00 + GST | $155.00 + GST | $160.00 + GST |
