Funeral reading
Eternal Rest (Requiem aeternam)
Traditional Catholic prayer
“Eternal Rest (Requiem aeternam)” (traditional Catholic prayer) is a prayer read at a funeral or memorial service. It takes about 10 seconds read aloud, usually by everyone together. It is in the public domain, so the full text is printed on this page and goes straight into a ceremony script.
The full text
Eternal rest give unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.
Public domain, so these words can be printed in a ceremony script or an order of service.
Where it comes from
Eternal Rest, or Requiem aeternam, is a Western Christian prayer for the faithful departed, drawn from 2 Esdras 2:34–35. The English wording printed here is taken from the 1910 Raccolta, a Catholic collection of indulgenced prayers.
What it says
Three short lines. Give them eternal rest, Lord, and let perpetual light shine on them; may they rest in peace. It asks God for two things for the dead, rest and light, and ends with the phrase carved on countless gravestones. It is a prayer of the living on behalf of the dead, and for Catholic families it is part of how they keep praying for someone after death.
Short, said together, and expected at a Catholic vigil. Read at a funeral or memorial service. Themes: eternal rest · perpetual light · very short · said together · Catholic vigil.
Who it suits
A Catholic vigil, wake, funeral or graveside, and Catholic families who will expect it and know the response. It suits any service where the family pray for the dead, and it is also used by some Anglican, Lutheran and Methodist families. It is too short to stand alone as a reading, and it is not suited to a secular service or a Protestant family who do not pray for the dead.
Where it goes in the ceremony
At the end of a rosary or vigil, after the prayers of the faithful, or at the graveside after the committal. The officiant often says the first line and the room answers the second; at a vigil it may be said several times.
Reading it aloud
The text on this page is 20 words. At a ceremony pace of about 130 words a minute, which is slower than conversation, that comes to about 10 seconds of reading.
- If the room is Catholic, say “Eternal rest give unto them, O Lord” and pause; many will answer “and let perpetual light shine upon them” without prompting.
- For one person, change “them” to “him” or “her” and use their name if the family wish.
- Some will say “grant unto them” instead of “give unto them”. Both are common; do not correct anyone.
- End with “May they rest in peace. Amen.” and let the room say Amen with you.
Questions about reading it aloud
How long does “Eternal Rest (Requiem aeternam)” take to read aloud?
“Eternal Rest (Requiem aeternam)” takes about 10 seconds read aloud at a ceremony pace, which is slower than conversation — roughly 130 words a minute. That is the figure the run-sheet uses when it works out the timing for the whole service.
Who usually reads “Eternal Rest (Requiem aeternam)”?
Everyone together, rather than one reader. “Eternal Rest (Requiem aeternam)” runs about 10 seconds and needs the words in front of the room — in an order of service, on a screen, or led line by line by the officiant.
Can “Eternal Rest (Requiem aeternam)” be printed in a ceremony script?
Yes. It is in the public domain, so the full text is on this page and can be printed in a script or an order of service.
Where this text was checked
Checked word for word against a full-text edition that is itself the authority — a Project Gutenberg or Wikisource transcription, a publisher’s own edition, or the issuing body’s page.
Checked
A reading is two minutes of the hour.
The rest is the welcome, the life, the remembrances, the committal — and knowing what comes next. Answer some questions about them and get the whole service, written out, with this reading in its place.
Other readings that suit the same service
- The Lord's Prayer40 secondsUsually said alongside it at a vigil
- Wisdom 3:1–9a minute and a halfThe souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, a common Catholic funeral reading
- Nunc Dimittis (Luke 2:29–32)20 secondsAnother short prayer of rest at the end of life
- El Malei Rachamima minute and a halfTraditional memorial prayer
- Mourner's Kaddisha minute and a halfTraditional, Aramaic
- Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace50 secondsAttributed to St Francis of Assisi