How to Build a Catholic Funeral Program in Weeve
Step-by-step tutorial for creating a Catholic funeral program in Weeve: enter the memorial details, choose readings from the approved list, pick music, and download a print-ready PDF.
Planning a funeral happens fast, often with three or four days' notice. Weeve generates a print-ready funeral program from a short setup wizard so families don't have to design something from scratch during the hardest week of their year.
Building and previewing are free; a free account downloads the PDF. Most families finish in under twenty minutes.
What you'll need before starting
- The deceased's full name (as it should appear on the cover) and birth and death dates.
- Funeral Mass date, church, and the celebrant's name.
- The four readings (First, Psalm, Second, Gospel). If undecided, see our guide to choosing funeral readings.
- Hymn selections — entrance, offertory, communion, recessional.
- (Optional) A short memorial note or biography for the back of the program.
1. Open the builder
Go to the funeral program builder. The setup wizard opens automatically.
2. In Memoriam step
Enter:
- Name of the deceased — as it should appear on the program cover.
- Birth date and date of death — both appear together on the cover.
- Funeral date — when the Mass will be celebrated.
- Church — the parish hosting the Mass.
- Celebrant — the priest officiating.
3. Readings step
Pick one option per slot. The Church provides 41 approved options for a funeral Mass:
- First Reading — 7 Old Testament options including Wisdom 3, Job 19, Isaiah 25, and 2 Maccabees 12.
- Responsorial Psalm — 9 options, with Psalm 23 ("The Lord is my shepherd") the most common.
- Second Reading — 11 New Testament options including Romans 8 ("nothing will separate us") and 1 Corinthians 15 ("death is swallowed up in victory").
- Gospel — 14 options, the largest slot, including John 14 ("in my Father's house") and Luke 23 ("today you will be with me in Paradise").
Weeve preloads the full scripture text. If you only want to pick the Gospel and Psalm and let the priest fill the rest, that's fine — you can edit and re-save the program before you print.
4. Music
Enter hymn titles for the entrance, offertory, communion, and recessional. Your parish music director can help with options if you don't already have selections.
5. Prayers
Toggle which prayers to print in full. Funeral Masses typically include the standard set — the wizard's defaults are appropriate.
6. Parish (optional)
Add parish address and pastor's name if useful for guests. This is independent of the church field entered in step 2.
7. Design
Pick a border style and heading color. Many families choose a subdued color (deep burgundy or charcoal) for funerals; classic borders fit the tone of a Catholic Funeral Mass well. You can also adjust text scale for older readers.
8. Review and download
The review step shows the live preview. Click Download PDF — free for anyone, and ready to take to a copy shop. Families with a paid plan can also export .docx for a funeral director or stationer who works in Word.
9. Save it (optional)
Sign in and save the program — it appears at your dashboard. Useful if family members are reviewing the draft separately and you need to make changes through the week. Free accounts save 1 worship aid; paid plans save unlimited.
Tips and gotchas
- You don't have to pick all four readings yourself. Many families choose the Gospel and Psalm and ask the priest to fill in the rest. You can re-open the program and update later.
- Eulogies are generally not permitted at the Funeral Mass itself, but are welcome at the vigil. Plan that text separately.
- If you also need to plan the broader funeral (vigil, committal, music, who reads), see our how-to-plan-a-Catholic-funeral checklist.
- Half-sheet layout produces a folded booklet that fits standard pew racks; full-sheet is a single 8.5×11 handout.