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October 26, 2025By Tanya Connor
The Catholic Free Press
Members of three former parishes help priests serve and evangelize the bereaved at Divine Mercy Parish in Blackstone. That parish was formed in 2022 from St. Paul and St. Theresa parishes in Blackstone and St. Augustine Parish in Millville, and uses St. Paul’s campus.
“It’s truly a Divine Mercy Parish ministry that came out of the merger,” Father John L. Larochelle, pastor, said of the work with the bereaved. Praying for the dead is a spiritual work of mercy and burying them is a corporal work of mercy.
“That’s not just my job as pastor,” he explained. “The parish community should be coming around those suffering a loss.” The community is part of the Body of Christ; when one part suffers, all suffer.
A funeral Mass, while sad, is an opportunity to evangelize the bereaved, he said.
“It becomes, sometimes, a point of healing for people who come to Mass and rediscover the beauty of the faith and the love that God has for them,” he said. Active parishioners present set an example as faith-filled people.
At some parishes, the families of the deceased never meet with the priest or lay people; the funeral home simply gives them Scripture readings to choose from for the Mass, Father Larochelle said.
But at Divine Mercy, the parish community comes together, as the pastor, office staff and bereavement ministry members each do their part.
Father Larochelle said he works closely with the funeral homes and prepares the homily based on the life of the deceased and the Scriptures the family chooses for the funeral.
But it is parishioners who help them choose those Scriptures and plan other aspects of the Mass.
“We do it for Christ,” as volunteers, said Philip Dunlavey, one of those parishioners.
He said he started helping with the bereavement ministry at St. Paul’s about 20 years ago; and when the team leader couldn’t continue, she gave him the responsibility.
Ann Lesperance said she helped with the bereavement ministry at St. Augustine’s for about seven years, until the parishes were merged.
Now she and Mr. Dunlavey are team leaders, and alternate helping families plan funerals.
Father Larochelle said he formalized the bereavement ministry after the merger and created altar server teams. Usually one of the team members knows the bereaved, and can be there for that funeral, he said.
There are eight team members, from all three former parishes, Mrs. Lesperance said, and more volunteers would be helpful. The goal is to have a thurifer, cross bearer, and two candle bearers at each funeral. She and Mr. Dunlavey help distribute Communion, are lectors and altar servers, and read eulogies, if needed.
Some families want to perform all roles themselves, some don’t want to do anything, Mr. Dunlavey said. It’s up to them.
Mrs. Lesperance said she or Mr. Dunlavey gives the family a folder, which includes the parish’s “Funeral Liturgy Planning Guide,” a planning worksheet, list of appropriate songs, answers to frequently asked questions, letter from the pastor, contact information for him and the team leaders, pamphlets about grief, and a “pocket prayer shawl” parishioners make, to be “a constant reminder of God’s love and presence in your life.”
“This folder contains resources for you and for your loved ones, but, most importantly, I want you to know that we are here to support you and to pray with you, both now and in the coming days and weeks,” Father Larochelle’s letter says.
He says death “was never a part of God’s beautiful plan for us,” so grieving is natural, but faith offers hope.
“We look forward to being united once again with our loved ones when the love of Christ, which conquers all things, will destroy even death itself,” he says.
“It’s a great ministry,” Mr. Dunlavey said. He said he says to inactive Catholics, “Why don’t you come to church?” and tells them Mass times at Divine Mercy and neighboring parishes. He suggests they avail themselves of the sacrament of reconciliation, and tells them if they don’t, they can receive a blessing instead of Communion. The answers to frequently asked questions also address this.
He meets with them in the church, where they can see how many pews to reserve, and good spots for anyone negatively affected by the incense. If getting to the church is hard for them, he meets them at their home.
He said that he gives Father Larochelle, or another celebrating priest, the filled-out planning worksheet, information the parish office collected, the obituary and the eulogy the family wrote (they’re given guidelines), to make sure it’s appropriate.
If the family wants to include something outside of parish guidelines, the team leader needs to get the priest’s permission, Mrs. Lesperance said.
Mr. Dunlavey said if the family wants something inappropriate for Mass, such as a secular song, he gives them other options, like playing it at the wake.
Mrs. Lesperance said she tells families, “I am your connection to the church,” and that she’s there to take the stress of funeral planning off them. She adds, “We want to give your loved one a beautiful send-off.”
Toni Harvey, pastoral associate, said Divine Mercy is continuing the collation ministry that was part of St. Augustine’s bereavement ministry and includes people from all three former parishes. If the family wants it, she coordinates a team that sets up and cleans up in the church hall. Other parishioners bake pastries, the family provides any other food, and the parish donates drinks for this post-funeral collation.
Father Larochelle said the bereavement ministry helps with the parish’s All Soul’s Day remembrance, which this year will involve a prayer service for the bereaved, at which the deceased are prayed for and candles lit in their memory.