payment. Western Catholic burial ritual The various Roman Catholic Church religious observances surrounding mortal remains can be divided into three stages. The following three stages assume, however, that the full funeral rites are celebrated, including the Funeral (Requiem) Mass, which, since it is a Mass, must be celebrated by a priest. If a Catholic deacon celebrates, the Funeral Mass does not occur, however, a Memorial Mass may be said later for the deceased. The deacon leads the prayer services at the home and the funeral home, blesses the remains at the church during another prayer service, and then leads the prayers of final commendation at the graveside. In an increasing number of cases where there are not enough priests and deacons, lay people will lead prayers in the home of the deceased, the Vigil for the Deceased at the church, and also prayers at the graveside (the only funeral service which requires an ordained priest is the Requiem Mass itself). If the traditional three-part funeral rites are celebrated, they proceed as follows: Conveyance of the body to the church The first stage involves the parish priest and other clergy going to the house of the deceased. One cleric carries the cross and another carries a vessel of holy water. Before the coffin is removed from the house it is sprinkled with the holy water. The priest, with his assistants, says the psalm De profundis with the antiphon Si iniquitates. Then the procession sets out for the church. The cross-bearer goes first, followed by members of the clergy carrying lighted candles. The priest walks immediately before the coffin, and the friends of the deceased and others walk behind it. Note that in the vast majority of cases none of the above will happen. The priest or deacon will go to the house without procession, or lay people will lead the prayers in the presence of the body if clergy are not available. As they leave the house, the priest intones the antiphon Exsultabunt Domino, and then the psalm Miserere is recited or chanted in alternate verses by the cantors and clergy. On reaching the church the antiphon Exsultabunt is repeated. As the body is placed "in the middle of the church," the responsorial Subvenite is recited. Once again, this seldom happens. The coffin is brought to the church by the undertaker in a hearse. It may arrive the evening before, for