Absolution of the dead

"[5] This prayer is followed by the singing or recitation of the responsory Libera me Domine: "Deliver me, O Lord, from eternal death in that awful day.

A few versicles and responses follow, after which the priest recites what Herbert Thurston calls "the prayer of absolution",[4] Deus cui proprium est: "O God, whose property is ever to have mercy and to spare, we humbly beseech Thee on behalf of thy servant [handmaid] N..., which Thou hast called out of the world, that Thou wouldst not deliver him [her] into the hands of the enemy, nor forget him [her] forever, but command that he [she] be taken up by Thy holy angels and borne to our home in paradise; that having put his [her] hope and trust in Thee, he [she] will not suffer the pains of hell, but may come to the possession of eternal joys.

If the service is carried out in the absence of the body, a different "prayer of absolution" is said, beginning with the word "Absolve": "Absolve, we beseech Thee, O Lord, the soul of Thy servant [handmaid] N..., that he [she] who is dead to the world, may live unto Thee, and wipe away by Thy most merciful forgiveness what sins he [she] may have committed in life through human frailty.

Editions in other languages can provide a wider range: the Italian version gives four based on the Latin text, followed by an additional set of eight.

[9] This is followed by the responsorial chant "Saints of God, come to his/her aid", during which the priest goes around the coffin, first sprinkling it with holy water in memory of the sacrament of baptism that began divine life for the dead person, and then incensing it as a sign of respect for the body of the deceased.

In the official English translation it asks: "Forgive whatever sins he/she committed through human weakness and in your goodness grant him/her eternal rest."

The priest concludes the service with the formula, "In peace let us take our brother/sister to his/her place of rest", and the body is taken out of the church to the accompaniment of the singing or recitation of a vernacular version of In paradisum.

The Prayer of Absolution is understood as the means by which "the Church remits all the departed's transgressions, absolves him from all obligations, all pledges or oaths, and sends him off in peace into life everlasting.