Parish priests insist on notification of funerals

The College of Maltese Parish Priests said today that anybody wishing to hold a funeral Mass outside the parish of the deceased would need prior permission from the parish priest.

Fr Eric Overend, who heads the College, told timesofmalta.com that the requirement was being introduced for pastoral purposes because in many cases parish priests were being left unaware that a member of their parish would have passed away.

"This is not some sort of monopoly, but parish priests should be notified as soon as possible about the passing away of a member of their parish so that they can give their pastoral assistance as necessary," he said.

He said that a priest would not be able to celebrate funeral Mass without the written approval of the head of the parish of the deceased.

The requirement also applies to Masses held at the cemetery chapel in churches run by religious orders.