The last hours, and what each tradition asks be done at them.
Cited background on how traditions meet this moment, with no ritual instructions. The texts further down come from named editions and were checked against them; none has yet been signed by a reviewer credentialed in its tradition. How that works.
The last hours of a life draw out the oldest words people have. Nearly every tradition names this hour and keeps something for it: Catholic families call a priest for the rites popularly known as last rites, Jewish tradition holds the Shema for the very end, Muslim relatives keep vigil so the Shahada may be softly prompted, Hindu and Sikh households fill the room with chant and the names of God, and Buddhist communities steady the dying mind with recitation. Underneath the differences runs one shared instinct: a person should not go alone, and what surrounds them at the end matters.
Most people reach a page like this in the middle of it. They search for what last rites actually are and whether it is too late, for who to call at two in the morning, for what to say to a parent who has stopped answering. The honest answers are mostly about timing and presence. Call the person's own clergy earlier than feels necessary. Ask the family what is wanted before doing anything. Trust that a held hand and a familiar voice reach further than a perfect sentence. Hospice chaplains, who keep this watch for a living, describe the work as listening rather than performing. What follows names the rites across traditions, says who should be called and how urgently, and stays close to what helps at a bedside.
Across traditions
Awareness-level notes: what this moment tends to involve, tradition by tradition. Each links to its background page.
What families call last rites is a cluster rather than a single rite: Confession, Anointing of the Sick, and Viaticum, a final Communion whose name means food for the journey. Anointing requires a priest and is given to the living, so parishes ask to be called early, while the person can still take part; a deacon or lay minister may bring Viaticum when no priest can come. A priest may add the Apostolic Pardon. Catholic guidance is plain that it is never too late to phone.
An Orthodox Christian near death is offered Confession and Holy Communion while still conscious and able to swallow, and may receive Holy Unction, the Church's anointing for healing of soul and body. There is also a distinct bedside office, a Canon read as the soul departs, often titled for the parting of the soul from the body. Families are urged to contact their parish priest directly and in good time. Details of practice vary by jurisdiction and local custom.
Most Protestant churches keep no required last rite; what families ask for is their pastor, and prayer, scripture, and steady presence at the bedside are the practice. Anglican and Episcopal prayer books do contain a named office, the Ministration at the Time of Death, with a litany and a commendation, and its opening rubric asks that the minister be told whenever a person is near death. Shape and formality vary widely by denomination and congregation, so the person's own church leads.
Jewish tradition keeps the Shema for the very end: it is meant to be the last declaration of a Jewish life. There is also the vidui, a deathbed confession, which a dying person may make alone, with a friend, or with a rabbi's help. Rabbis are typically called as death approaches, though neither Reform nor Orthodox practice strictly requires one, and the movements agree that a dying person is not left alone. Timing, language, and custom vary by community and movement. When the death comes, those told it traditionally answer with four words, Baruch Dayan HaEmet, blessed is the true Judge.
The family keeps vigil, often in numbers, and the Quran is recited at the bedside, with Surah Ya-Sin a frequent choice. Those present may gently encourage the dying person toward the Shahada, the declaration of faith, so that it can be among the last words; the practice is called talqin and is done softly and without pressure. An imam is welcomed and can guide the family through what comes next, but one is not strictly required. Schools and communities differ on the details.
In Hindu understanding the state of mind at death shapes the soul's onward journey, so families work to fill the room with the sacred: chanting, the names of God, passages of the Bhagavad Gita and Vedic hymns. Some families ask to give the person Ganges water or to rest a tulsi leaf on the lips, and some keep customs about the position of the body or resting the person on the ground. Families often lead this themselves, with a priest invited when one is available. Practice varies widely by region and lineage.
The aim across schools is a calm, settled mind at the end, so the bedside fills with chant rather than commotion. Pure Land Buddhists recite the name of Amitabha Buddha, the nembutsu in Japanese practice, and a minister may be called for makuragyo, a bedside service held around the time of death. Tibetan tradition brings bardo guidance, including readings connected with the Tibetan Book of the Dead and the practice of powa. Theravada families often invite monks to chant. Schools differ considerably; ask what the family follows.
Relatives and friends sit with the dying and recite Gurbani, with Sukhmani Sahib a common choice, or simply repeat Waheguru together to steady the person and themselves. Sikh teaching frames death as the working of divine will and discourages loud lamentation at the bedside. Japji Sahib and Kirtan Sohila have their named places around the funeral that follows. A granthi can help and the gurdwara is a natural point of contact, but the family may lead the recitation themselves.
Many deathbeds hold more than one tradition at once. The order chaplains work by is simple: the dying person's own wishes first, then the family's, with a hospital or hospice chaplain holding the seams. Chaplains are trained to support any tradition without substituting their own, and they know how to reach a priest, rabbi, imam, or monk quickly when a specific rite is wanted. Naming what each side needs early keeps a mixed family from discovering the differences at the hardest hour.
No rite is required, and nothing needs to be performed. What people without religion tend to want at the end is presence: familiar voices, music that belongs to the person, favorite words read aloud, quiet, a held hand. Hospice chaplains are direct about this: they serve atheists and agnostics as readily as believers, shaping support around the person's own values and never importing religion uninvited. A chaplain can also help the family plan a farewell that stays true to the person's outlook.
Texts from their published editions
Each text below comes from the edition named under it and was checked twice, independently, before it appeared. Neither check was a person. Where the two disagreed by even one character, the text is not shown here. That is a claim about wording only: these are not selected or endorsed for any particular situation, and nobody credentialed in the tradition has signed them. Older spelling is kept as the edition prints it. The full record, including the texts we held back because the two transcriptions disagreed, is at the verification record.
A Suttanipata discourse on the inevitability of death and on grief as a barb that the mourner draws out rather than deepens. It is used pastorally rather than liturgically, read at funerals and in bereavement teaching across Theravada communities, and is one of the canonical sources for Buddhist counsel to the bereaved.
English · The Sacred Books of the East, Vol. X: The Dhammapada and Sutta-Nipata, 1881Read twice, independently
Without a cause and unknown is the life of mortals in this world, troubled and brief, and combined with pain.
For there is not any means by which those that have been born can avoid dying; after reaching old age there is death, of such a nature are living beings.
As ripe fruits are early in danger of falling, so mortals when born are always in danger of death.
As all earthen vessels made by the potter end in being broken, so is the life of mortals.
Both young and grown-up men, both those who are fools and those who are wise men, all fall into the power of death, all are subject to death.
Of those who, overcome by death, go to the other world, a father does not save his son, nor relatives their relations.
Mark! while relatives are looking on and lamenting greatly, one by one of the mortals is carried off, like an ox that is going to be killed.
So the world is afflicted with death and decay, therefore the wise do not grieve, knowing the terms of the world.
For him, whose way thou dost not know, either when he is coming or when he is going, not seeing both ends, thou grievest in vain.
If he who grieves gains anything, (although he is only) a fool hurting himself, let the wise man do the same.
Not from weeping nor from grieving will any one obtain peace of mind; (on the contrary), the greater his pain will be, and his body will suffer.
He will be lean and pale, hurting himself by himself, (and yet) the dead are not saved, lamentation (therefore) is of no avail.
He who does not leave grief behind, goes (only) deeper into pain; bewailing the dead he falls into the power of grief.
Look at others passing away, men that go (to what they deserve) according to their deeds, beings trembling already here, after falling into the power of death.
In whatever manner people think (it will come to pass), different from that it becomes, so great is the disappointment (in this world); see, (such are) the terms of the world.
Even if a man lives a hundred years or even more, he is at last separated from the company of his relatives, and leaves life in this world.
Therefore let one, hearing (the words of) the saint, subdue his lamentation; seeing the one that has passed away and is dead, (let him say): 'He will not be found by me (any more).'
As a house on fire is extinguished by water, so also the wise, sensible, learned, clever man rapidly drives away sorrow that has arisen, as the wind a tuft of cotton.
He who seeks his own happiness should draw out his arrow (which is) his lamentation, and complaint, and grief.
He who has drawn out the arrow and is not dependent (on anything) will obtain peace of mind; he who has overcome all sorrow will become free from sorrow, and blessed (nibbuta).
V. Fausboll and F. Max Muller. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1881. Published 1881, before 1929, US public domain, and both translators died before 1929. Source
Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.
A fourteenth-century Eucharistic prayer beginning "Soul of Christ, sanctify me", widely attached to thanksgiving after communion and embedded in the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola. It circulates in dozens of English verse and prose renderings, which differ substantially; naming the edition matters more here than for most Catholic prayers.
Wording and scope vary between editions and between communities, so this entry is tied to one named edition and makes no claim about which form is right in a given setting.
A fourteenth-century Eucharistic prayer beginning "Soul of Christ, sanctify me", widely attached to thanksgiving after communion and embedded in the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola. It circulates in dozens of English verse and prose renderings, which differ substantially; naming the edition matters more here than for most Catholic prayers.
Wording and scope vary between editions and between communities, so this entry is tied to one named edition and makes no claim about which form is right in a given setting.
The central Marian prayer of Latin Catholicism, built from the Lucan greeting plus a later intercessory petition fixed in the sixteenth century. It is the repeated unit of the rosary and of the Angelus, and it is the prayer most often said at a sickbed or deathbed. Recited by anyone, at any time, with no conditions of office or state.
Hail, Mary, full of grace; the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
John Murphy and Company, Baltimore, 1889. Published 1889, before 1929, US public domain. Source
Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.
Wording and scope vary between editions and between communities, so this entry is tied to one named edition and makes no claim about which form is right in a given setting.
A psalm for David. The Lord ruleth me: and I shall want nothing.
He hath set me in a place of pasture. He hath brought me up, on the water of refreshment:
He hath converted my soul. He hath led me on the paths of justice, for his own name's sake.
For though I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evils, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they have comforted me.
Thou hast prepared a table before me against them that afflict me. Thou hast anointed my head with oil; and my chalice which inebreateth me, how goodly is it!
And thy mercy will follow me all the days of my life. And that I may dwell in the house of the Lord unto length of days.
Challoner revision. John Murphy Company, Baltimore, 1899. Published 1899, before 1929, US public domain. Source
Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.
Wording and scope vary between editions and between communities, so this entry is tied to one named edition and makes no claim about which form is right in a given setting.
An eleventh-century Marian antiphon, sung at Compline for much of the liturgical year and said at the close of the rosary. It is also sung at Catholic funerals, notably for clergy and religious. Widely known in Latin chant and in numerous English prose renderings.
Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy; our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn, then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us; and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus; O clement, O pious, O sweet Virgin Mary.
John Murphy and Company, Baltimore, 1889. Published 1889, before 1929, US public domain. Source
Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.
Vosotros pues, oraréis así: Padre nuestro que estás en los cielos, santificado sea tu nombre.
Venga tu reino. Sea hecha tu voluntad, como en el cielo, así también en la tierra.
Danos hoy nuestro pan cotidiano.
Y perdónanos nuestras deudas, como también nosotros perdonamos á nuestros deudores.
Y no nos metas en tentación, mas líbranos del mal: porque tuyo es el reino, y el poder, y la gloria, por todos los siglos. Amén.
Casiodoro de Reina and Cipriano de Valera, 1909 revision. 1909. Published 1909, before 1929, US public domain, and distributed as public domain by ebible.org. Later Reina-Valera revisions such as RVR1960 are in copyright and are not used here. Source
Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.
Wording and scope vary between editions and between communities, so this entry is tied to one named edition and makes no claim about which form is right in a given setting.
Voici donc comment vous devez prier: Notre Père qui es aux cieux! Que ton nom soit sanctifié;
que ton règne vienne; que ta volonté soit faite sur la terre comme au ciel.
Donne-nous aujourd'hui notre pain quotidien;
pardonne-nous nos offenses, comme nous aussi nous pardonnons à ceux qui nous ont offensés;
ne nous induis pas en tentation, mais délivre-nous du malin. Car c'est à toi qu'appartiennent, dans tous les siècles, le règne, la puissance et la gloire. Amen!
Louis Segond. 1910. Published 1910, before 1929, US public domain; the translator died in 1885. Later Segond revisions such as Segond 21 are in copyright and are not used here. Source
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Wording and scope vary between editions and between communities, so this entry is tied to one named edition and makes no claim about which form is right in a given setting.
En lugares de delicados pastos me hará yacer: junto á aguas de reposo me pastoreará.
Confortará mi alma; guiaráme por sendas de justicia por amor de su nombre.
Aunque ande en valle de sombra de muerte, no temeré mal alguno; porque tú estarás conmigo: tu vara y tu cayado me infundirán aliento.
Aderezarás mesa delante de mí, en presencia de mis angustiadores: ungiste mi cabeza con aceite: mi copa está rebosando.
Ciertamente el bien y la misericordia me seguirán todos los días de mi vida: y en la casa de Jehová moraré por largos días.
Casiodoro de Reina and Cipriano de Valera, 1909 revision. 1909. Published 1909, before 1929, US public domain, and distributed as public domain by ebible.org. Later Reina-Valera revisions such as RVR1960 are in copyright and are not used here. Source
Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.
Cantique de David. L'Eternel est mon berger: je ne manquerai de rien.
Il me fait reposer dans de verts pâturages, Il me dirige près des eaux paisibles.
Il restaure mon âme, Il me conduit dans les sentiers de la justice, A cause de son nom.
Quand je marche dans la vallée de l'ombre de la mort, Je ne crains aucun mal, car tu es avec moi: Ta houlette et ton bâton me rassurent.
Tu dresses devant moi une table, En face de mes adversaires; Tu oins d'huile ma tête, Et ma coupe déborde.
Oui, le bonheur et la grâce m'accompagneront Tous les jours de ma vie, Et j'habiterai dans la maison de l'Eternel Jusqu'à la fin de mes jours.
Louis Segond. 1910. Published 1910, before 1929, US public domain; the translator died in 1885. Later Segond revisions such as Segond 21 are in copyright and are not used here. Source
Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.
Four words said on hearing that someone has died: blessed is the true Judge. The Mishnah lists it among the blessings said on news, the one for news that is bad, and it is what a Jewish family says aloud at the moment they are told. It is also the phrase written at the top of a death announcement, which is how most people meet it.
Sefaria, 2026. Sefaria labels this version Public Domain. The Mishnah itself is ancient and the pointing follows the standard printed editions. Checked against Hebrew Wikisource's separately keyed vocalized Mishnah. Retrieved and verified 2026-09-20. Cite as: Mishnah Berakhot 9:2, Mishnah, Torat Emet edition, via Sefaria.org. Source
Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.
No English is set beside the Hebrew. The blessing is four words and the usual English, “blessed is the true Judge”, is not taken here from any edition: the one public-domain prayer book that prints it, Singer’s of 1904, gives it only as the tail of an elided formula, “On hearing Evil Tidings: — the true Judge”, with the opening words printed once further up the page. Setting a translation beside it that came from nowhere would be the failure this site exists to avoid. The full blessing as it is said in the liturgy opens with the standard formula naming God, and saying a blessing has conditions this entry makes no claim about; what is verified here is the wording of the four words the Mishnah records.
A psalm of trust that ends with the path of life. In many communities it is read in a house of mourning on days when the usual mourning psalm is not said, and at funerals on those days.
Sefaria, from the Unicode/XML Leningrad Codex at tanach.us, 2026. Tanach.us states that all biblical Hebrew text on its site may be viewed or copied without restriction, and Sefaria labels this version Public Domain. Retrieved and verified 2026-09-17. Cite as: Psalms 16:1-11, Tanach with Nikkud, a digital edition of the Leningrad Codex, via Sefaria.org. Source
Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.
Wording and scope vary between editions and between communities, so each edition here is named and this entry makes no claim about which form is right in a given setting. The English keeps the line breaks of one digitisation of the 1917 volume. The second, which it was checked against, stores each verse as running text, so it confirms the words and cannot confirm where a line ends.
A short psalm of trust attributed to David, widely used at funerals, at memorial gatherings and at the Sabbath afternoon meal in some communities. In Jewish use it is read in Hebrew from the Book of Psalms and is not tied to a fixed liturgical slot the way the fixed prayers are.
Sefaria, from the Unicode/XML Leningrad Codex at tanach.us, 2026. Tanach.us states that all biblical Hebrew text on its site may be viewed or copied without restriction, and Sefaria labels this version Public Domain. Retrieved and verified 2026-09-02. Cite as: Psalms 23:1-6, Tanach with Nikkud, a digital edition of the Leningrad Codex, via Sefaria.org. Source
Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.
Wording and scope vary between editions and between communities, so each edition here is named and this entry makes no claim about which form is right in a given setting. The two columns do not cover quite the same span: the Hebrew opens with the psalm's superscription, “A Psalm of David”, which the English published here does not carry, because the two transcription passes over the JPS volume agreed only from the first verse proper.
HEAR, O ISRAEL: THE LORD OUR GOD, THE LORD IS ONE.
And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be upon thy heart;
and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be for frontlets between thine eyes.
And thou shalt write them upon the door-posts of thy house, and upon thy gates.
Jewish Publication Society of America, 1917. Published 1917, before 1929, US public domain. Source
Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.
Sefaria, from the Unicode/XML Leningrad Codex at tanach.us, 2026. Tanach.us states that all biblical Hebrew text on its site may be viewed or copied without restriction, and Sefaria labels this version Public Domain. Retrieved and verified 2026-09-01. Cite as: Deuteronomy 6:4-9, Tanach with Nikkud, a digital edition of the Leningrad Codex, via Sefaria.org. Source
Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.
Wording and scope vary between editions and between communities, so each edition here is named and this entry makes no claim about which form is right in a given setting. This is the biblical paragraph, not the Shema as a siddur prints it for prayer: the liturgy runs to three paragraphs, inserts a line after the first verse that is not part of the biblical text, and prints the enlarged ayin and dalet of verse 4 that are shown here at ordinary size.
The opening sura, recited in every unit of each of the five daily prayers and so the most frequently said text in Islam. It is also read for the sick, at gravesides and at the start of gatherings in many communities.
Tanzil Project (https://tanzil.net/), served by alquran.cloud, 2026. Not public domain, and the first licensed edition in this corpus. Tanzil grants permission to copy and distribute verbatim copies provided the source is named and tanzil.net is linked, and forbids altering the text. Both conditions are met here. Retrieved and verified 2026-09-04. Source
Licensed, not public domain: copy it only word for word, and name and link the source as its terms require. The terms.
The Arabic is published without an English rendering. The securely public-domain English translations are nineteenth-century orientalist work that no Muslim community uses devotionally, and setting one beside the Arabic would present it as the meaning of the prayer. Recitation in Islamic practice has conditions this entry makes no claim about; what is verified here is the wording of the edition named below.
The verse containing the words said on hearing of a death or any loss: we belong to God and to him we return. The phrase is on the lips of Muslims everywhere at a bereavement.
Tanzil Project (https://tanzil.net/), served by alquran.cloud, 2026. Not public domain, and the first licensed edition in this corpus. Tanzil grants permission to copy and distribute verbatim copies provided the source is named and tanzil.net is linked, and forbids altering the text. Both conditions are met here. Retrieved and verified 2026-09-17. Source
Licensed, not public domain: copy it only word for word, and name and link the source as its terms require. The terms.
The Arabic is published without an English rendering. The securely public-domain English translations are nineteenth-century orientalist work that no Muslim community uses devotionally, and setting one beside the Arabic would present it as the meaning of the prayer. Recitation in Islamic practice has conditions this entry makes no claim about; what is verified here is the wording of the edition named below. The verse is given whole, as the edition prints it, including the words that introduce the prayer, because this text is used on condition that it is not altered, and a verse cut short is altered.
The kontakion for the departed, sung at Orthodox funerals and at the memorial services that follow them. It asks rest for the person who has died, in a place without sickness, sorrow or sighing.
With the Saints give rest, O Christ, to the soul of thy servant, where there is neither sickness, nor sorrow, nor sighing, but life everlasting.
Isabel Florence Hapgood. Houghton, Mifflin and Company, Boston and New York, 1906. Published 1906, before 1929, US public domain, and the translator died in 1928. Retrieved and verified 2026-09-17. Source
Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.
Hapgood's is one English rendering among several, and most parishes today use a later one; hers is printed here because it is the one that is out of copyright. She is also not consistent with herself. The same prayer appears with different punctuation in different services of the same 1906 volume, so this is the text as printed in the Order for the Burial of the Dead (Laymen), and makes no claim to be the only form.
The psalm most used in Protestant and Anglican pastoral practice at illness, dying and funerals. Anglicans encounter it in two distinct English forms that are not interchangeable: Miles Coverdale's psalter, bound into the 1662 Book of Common Prayer and used for said and sung offices, and the King James Version rendering used in most Protestant Bible reading.
The Lord is my shepherd : therefore can J lack nothing.
He shall feed me in a green pasture : and lead me forth beside the waters of comfort.
He shall convert my soul : and bring me forth in the paths of righteousness, for his names sake.
Yea, though J walk through the valley of the shadow of death, J will fear no evil : for thou art with me, thy rod, and thy staff comfort me,
Thou shalt prepare a table before me, against them that trouble me : thou hast anointed my head with oil, and my cup shall be full.
But [thy] loving kindness and mercy shall follow me all the dayes of my life : and J will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
Church of England, 1662. Published 1662, long before 1929, US public domain. UK Crown patent applies within the United Kingdom, so this edition is used here on the US basis only. Source
Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.
Ask rather than assume. Two questions carry most of the weight: to the person, if they can still answer, "Is there anyone you want me to call?", and to the family, "What would they want in this room?" Make the clergy call earlier than feels comfortable; several traditions keep rites meant for someone still living and aware, and it is easier to cancel a priest than to summon one in the final ten minutes. The hospice's 24-hour number reaches the on-call team at any hour, and a chaplain can be arranged through it. If an expected death comes at home under hospice care, call the hospice line, not 911. In the room itself, presence is the work: sit close, speak normally, allow silence. Treat any religious object on or near the person as significant and ask before moving it. After a death, give the family privacy for whatever farewells and rites belong to them.
When to call someone instead: Call the person's own clergy as soon as dying is named, and for a Catholic sooner still: anointing is a sacrament for the living, so the parish should hear while the person can take part, though Catholic guidance is that it is never too late to phone. Rabbis are typically wanted as death approaches; Muslim families often want an imam present for guidance. When no clergy are known, the hospice's 24-hour line can send a chaplain and help reach the right minister, rabbi, or imam. For an expected home death on hospice, call the hospice, not 911; the funeral director comes after death is confirmed.
Need your own words right now? The composer assembles a short prayer for dying and the end of life from human-written lines, with or without religious language, free and without sending anything you type to anyone.
Questions people arrive with
What are last rites, and is it too late after death?#
Last rites is the everyday name for what the Catholic Church offers a person near death: Confession, Anointing of the Sick, and Viaticum, a final Communion whose name means food for the journey. These are sacraments for the living, so the standing advice is to call the parish early, while the person can still take part, rather than in the final minutes. And when death has already come, Catholic guidance stays simple: it is never too late to call a priest, who will come and pray.
Who do you call when someone on hospice dies at home?#
Call the hospice, not 911. Every hospice runs a 24-hour line for exactly this moment. The team confirms the death, completes the required paperwork, contacts the funeral home or helps the family choose one, and prepares the body for transport when the family is ready. The funeral director then takes over arrangements and death certificates. An anticipated hospice death is not an emergency, and there is no rush: the family can take time in the room, and clergy can still come to pray.
Less than you fear, and simpler. Chaplains who sit with the dying report that people want comfort and company more than eloquence: familiar voices, short true sentences, gratitude, love, permission to rest, long stretches of ordinary presence. Several traditions hold that awareness lingers and that what fills the room shapes the end, which is why so many bedsides carry quiet chant or prayer. If the person is religious, ask them or their clergy what they would want said or heard rather than guessing.
Do you have to be religious to have a hospice chaplain?#
No. Hospice chaplaincy is spiritual care in the widest sense, and chaplains serve people of every faith and of none, including atheists and agnostics, without bringing religion in uninvited. Mostly they listen: to talk of family, fear, memory, and unfinished business. They also do practical bridging that families often do not know to ask for, reaching a priest, rabbi, imam, or monk when a specific rite is wanted and helping plan what follows. Accepting a chaplain's visit commits you to nothing.
Because tradition after tradition treats what is heard last as weighty. Muslim relatives softly prompt the Shahada so faith may be among the final words. Jewish practice keeps the Shema for the end. Pure Land Buddhists chant the name of Amitabha. Sikh families read Sukhmani Sahib and repeat Waheguru. Hindu households chant so the dying mind rests on God. The shared conviction is that the final state of mind matters, so the room is filled with what the tradition holds most true. Visitors follow the family's lead.
Nearby moments
Serious illness: A diagnosis that changes the shape of a life.
Grief and mourning: After a death, including the formal mourning periods traditions set.
Sources
The claims above rest on the following. Where practice varies, the variation is stated rather than resolved.
Deathbed Etiquette Guides: Catholic, Jewish and Islamic Rituals, The Art of Dying Well, St Mary's University. Tradition-reviewed bedside guides. Verified the contents and naming of the last rites, the advice to call a priest in good time and that it is never too late, the Shema as the intended final words and the vidui with no rabbi strictly required, and talqin, the gentle prompting of the Shahada, alongside Surah Ya-Sin recitation and family vigil in Islamic practice.
Death and Dying in the Orthodox Church, Holy Annunciation Orthodox Church. Parish guidance confirming Confession and Communion for the conscious dying, Holy Unction, and a bedside Canon for the parting of the soul from the body, with families told to contact the priest directly.
Ministration at the Time of Death, The Book of Common Prayer, The Episcopal Church (1979). The office itself: its opening rubric asks that the minister be notified when a person is near death, and it contains a litany, commendation, and vigil prayers. Consulted for the Protestant entry.
End of Life: Asian Indian American Older Adults, Stanford School of Medicine Ethnogeriatrics. Clinician-facing module verifying Hindu bedside practices: chanting and Bhagavad Gita recitation, tulsi leaves and Ganges water on the lips, positioning customs, family-centered decisions, and privacy for rites after a death.
Buddhist Funeral Traditions, Lion's Roar. Survey across schools verifying Pure Land recitation and the makuragyo bedside service, Tibetan powa and the forty-nine days of readings connected with the Tibetan Book of the Dead, and the central place of monks' chanting in Theravada practice.
Sikh Death Ceremonies and Protocols, Sikh Dharma International. Verified Sukhmani Sahib and Gurbani recitation at the bedside, restraint in mourning as acceptance of divine will, and the named places of Japji Sahib and Kirtan Sohila around the funeral; consistent with other Sikh reference summaries reviewed during research.
When Death Happens at Home, Hospice Foundation of America. The authority for this page's most practical instruction: for an expected hospice death at home, call the hospice 24-hour line rather than emergency services; the team confirms the death, handles paperwork, and contacts the funeral home when the family is ready.
What Is End-of-Life Spirituality? A Hospice Chaplain Reveals, HopeHealth. A working chaplain on the job itself: listening over advising, serving every belief including atheists and agnostics, coordinating with a person's own clergy and rituals, and the finding that the dying mostly want comfort and company.
Content last changed 6 October 2026. Dates come from this page’s own revision history, not from the last time the site was deployed.
