With priests older and fewer in number, lay funeral ministers are being introduced to help out.
On Sunday, a group of 29 men and women will become the first lay funeral ministers to be appointed by the Catholic Church in Northern Ireland.
Earlier this year, Bishop of Derry Donal McKeown warned that very soon it might "no longer be the norm" for every individual to have a Mass as part of their funeral. The Diocese of Down and Connor is the first Catholic authority in Northern Ireland to implement the programme and it could be rolled out on a wider basis.Donal McKeown, who is currently in charge of two dioceses as Bishop of Derry and apostolic administrator of Down and Connor,
Among them is Canon John McKenna, who celebrated his 88th birthday in May but still officiates at Masses every single day."I would never miss Mass. I love it," he told BBC News NI. "It's part of the vocation," he explained, adding he would be "very unhappy" if a time came when he was unable to celebrate Mass.Canon McKenna was born in 1935 into a devout family where Mass and rosary prayers were daily customs.When he left school, he entered the seminary at St Kieran's College in Kilkenny and was in his mid-20s when he was ordained.
He believes child abuse revelations within the Catholic Church are the "main reason" why so few young people are taking up vocations.He fears some families may now actively discourage their sons or daughters from taking Holy Orders because of those controversies.That figure is slightly up compared to recent years, but is still extremely low in historical terms and nowhere near enough to replace the priests due to retire in the next few years.
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