Caskets, open or closed?

I think an open coffin at home before the funeral is mainly a Catholic thing in Britain, although it would be at home, rather than at the church.

In Ireland it is common for Catholics to be in an open coffin at home in the day/s before the funeral rite in a church. A priest would call at the home to say prayers with the family and the body would be sprinkled with holy water. Then body would be ‘waked’. A wake is a time for family, friends and colleagues to call at the home to pay their respects to the body, sit around and make small talk, while drinking tea and eating  sandwiches and biscuits. The evening before the funeral, the coffin would be closed and taken to the church for a short service called ‘The Removal of the Remains’. The closed coffin would remain in the church until the funeral rites have been completed. Some Protestants here would leave the lid open too but it tends not to be common. 

Nowadays, some Catholics don’t notify people of the time of ‘The Removal of the Remains’ and only close family would accompany the deceased to church. 

The average Catholic would not be in an open coffin in a church. The Pope was exceptional in that he was the leader of the world’s Catholics and  many people wanted to pay their respects.

Years ago, in Britain, Ireland and in places around the world, people had a healthier attitude to death than often do today. Years ago undertakers mightn’t have existed or weren’t often used. Usually the women of the home would have washed the body and laid it out ready for viewing. People tended not to be afraid of death so much then because it wasn’t sanitised. 

Some of that healthy attitude to death has emerged in a different form in more recent times, through the availability of a more personalised funeral that may see the deceased buried or cremated in a coffin in the image of a Hell’s Angel motorbike sidecar or a Lego brick. For some, a funeral like this can help family and friends say goodbye on a happier note than they might have done if the funeral service had been of the usual standard format. 

I think an open coffin at home before the funeral is mainly a Catholic thing in Britain, although it would be at home, rather than at the church.

In Ireland it is common for Catholics to be in an open coffin at home in the day/s before the funeral rite in a church. A priest would call at the home to say prayers with the family and the body would be sprinkled with holy water. Then body would be ‘waked’. A wake is a time for family, friends and colleagues to call at the home to pay their respects to the body, sit around and make small talk, while drinking tea and eating  sandwiches and biscuits. The evening before the funeral, the coffin would be closed and taken to the church for a short service called ‘The Removal of the Remains’. The closed coffin would remain in the church until the funeral rites have been completed. Some Protestants here would leave the lid open too but it tends not to be common. 

Nowadays, some Catholics don’t notify people of the time of ‘The Removal of the Remains’ and only close family would accompany the deceased to church. 

The average Catholic would not be in an open coffin in a church. The Pope was exceptional in that he was the leader of the world’s Catholics and  many people wanted to pay their respects.

Years ago, in Britain, Ireland and in places around the world, people had a healthier attitude to death than often do today. Years ago undertakers mightn’t have existed or weren’t often used. Usually the women of the home would have washed the body and laid it out ready for viewing. People tended not to be afraid of death so much then because it wasn’t sanitised. 

Some of that healthy attitude to death has emerged in a different form in more recent times, through the availability of a more personalised funeral that may see the deceased buried or cremated in a coffin in the image of a Hell’s Angel motorbike sidecar or a Lego brick. For some, a funeral like this can help family and friends say goodbye on a happier note than they might have done if the funeral service had been of the usual standard format. 

ArchaeC said:

I think an open coffin at home before the funeral is mainly a Catholic thing in Britain, although it would be at home, rather than at the church.

My grandfather had this after he passed. I was too young, and not allowed to see him, but my mum remembers it well.