Gregorian Masses: What They Are and How to Request Them

Gregorian Masses are a series of thirty Masses offered on thirty consecutive days for the soul of one person who has died. The custom goes back to Pope St. Gregory the Great (pope 590–604), who ordered thirty days of Masses for a deceased monk of his monastery. Catholics still request them, often soon after a death, as one of the greatest gifts they can offer a loved one. Below is what Gregorian Masses are, the story behind them, the rules, the usual offering, and how to arrange them.

What are Gregorian Masses?

Thirty Masses, one each day for thirty days in a row.
For one deceased person only. They cannot be offered for a group or for the living.
Celebrated by any priest or priests, at any altar. The thirty Masses do not have to be said by the same priest, but they must follow each other day after day.
Offered as soon as possible after death is customary, though they may be requested at any time, for someone who died long ago.

The Church has never taught that thirty Masses “automatically” free a soul from purgatory. But it has encouraged the practice: in 1888 the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences declared that the confidence of the faithful in the special value of Gregorian Masses is “pious and reasonable.”

The origin: St. Gregory and the monk Justus

St. Gregory tells the story himself in his Dialogues (Book IV, chapter 55). A monk named Justus, a physician in Gregory’s monastery of St. Andrew in Rome, was found on his deathbed to have hidden three gold coins, against the monastery’s vow of poverty. Gregory ordered that he be left alone in his last hours so he might repent, and Justus died sorrowing for his sin. Then, Gregory writes:

Thirty days after his departure, I began to take compassion upon him, and with great grief to think of his punishment, and what means there was to help him: whereupon I called again for Pretiosus, Prior of my Monastery, and with an heavy heart spake thus unto him: “It is now a good while since that our brother which is departed remaineth in the torments of fire, and therefore we must shew him some charity, and labour what we may to procure his delivery: wherefore go your way, and see that for thirty days following sacrifice be offered for him, so that no one day pass in which, for his absolution and discharge, the healthful sacrifice be not offered”: who forthwith departed, and put my commandment in execution. In the mean time, my mind being busied about other affairs, so that I took no heed to the days how they passed: upon a certain night the same monk that was dead, appeared to his brother Copiosus: who, seeing him, enquired of his state in this manner: “What is the matter, brother? and how is it with you?” to whom he answered thus: “Hitherto have I been in bad case, but now I am well; for this day have I received the communion”: with which news Copiosus straightways coming to the Monastery, told the monks: and they diligently counting the days, found it to be that in which the thirtieth sacrifice was offered for his soul: and so, though neither Copiosus knew what the monks had done for him, nor they what he had seen concerning the state of his brother, yet at one and the same time both he knew what they had done, and they what he had seen, and so the sacrifice and vision agreeing together, apparent it was that the dead monk was by the holy sacrifice delivered from his pains.

Since then, the series of thirty Masses has been called the “Gregorian” Masses or the “Gregorian trental.”

Why the Church offers Mass for the dead

“The Eucharistic sacrifice is also offered for the faithful departed who ‘have died in Christ but are not yet wholly purified,’ so that they may be able to enter into the light and peace of Christ” (CCC 1371). From the beginning, the Church has “offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice” (CCC 1032). Gregorian Masses are a generous, focused way of doing this for one person.

The rules

Thirty consecutive days. Traditionally, if the series was broken, it had to start again. In 1967 the Holy See clarified that when the series is interrupted by an unforeseen impediment, such as the sudden illness of the priest, the Masses keep their value, but the remaining Masses must be completed as soon as possible.
The Easter Triduum. No private Masses may be said on Good Friday and Holy Saturday, so communities usually schedule a series around them or follow the Holy See’s guidance on interruptions.
One soul, one series. The intention is fixed for one named person.
The priest receives one offering for the whole series and is bound in justice to celebrate all thirty Masses (see the Code of Canon Law, canons 945–958, on Mass offerings).

How much do Gregorian Masses cost?

There is no fixed “price”: Masses are never sold. The faithful make an offering (stipend) for the priest’s commitment. Because one priest, or a community of priests, must set aside thirty consecutive days, the offering for a Gregorian series is larger than for a single Mass, often several hundred dollars in the United States, and it varies by diocese and community. Many communities accept a smaller offering from those who cannot afford it.

How to request Gregorian Masses

Ask your parish. Some parish priests can accept a Gregorian series, though many cannot because they already have fixed Mass intentions.
Contact a religious community or monastery. Many orders of priests, missionary societies and abbeys accept Gregorian Mass requests and can schedule them quickly.
Give the full name of the deceased and, if you wish, the date of death.
Ask for a card or certificate to give to the family, letting them know that Gregorian Masses will be offered.
Attend one of the Masses if you can, or at least pray for your loved one during the thirty days. See our novena for the dead.

Frequently asked questions

Can Gregorian Masses be offered for someone who died years ago?

Yes. They can be offered for any deceased person, at any time.

Can Gregorian Masses be offered for more than one person?

No. Each series is for one soul. For several people, request separate series or individual Mass intentions for the dead.

Do I have to be present at the Masses?

No. The Masses are offered for your loved one whether or not you attend, though attending and receiving Communion joins your prayer to them.

Are Gregorian Masses the same as Gregorian chant?

No. Gregorian chant is the Church’s traditional music, also named after St. Gregory. A “Gregorian Mass” in this sense means one Mass of the thirty-day series.

More prayers for the dead

Texts and sources

St. Gregory the Great, Dialogues, Book IV, chapter 55, trans. P.W. (1608), ed. Edmund G. Gardner (1911), public domain.
Catechism of the Catholic Church 1032, 1371.
Code of Canon Law, canons 945–958 (Mass offerings).
Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, declaration of August 15, 1888, on Gregorian Masses.