What Mass Stipends are Allowed?

Question: My question is about stipends paid for a Mass to be celebrated for a private, personal intention or for a general intention. My understanding is that only one intention per Mass is offered, and the stipend offered is that which is recommended by the bishop of the diocese, but that this amount is not obligatory. Yet many parishes have multiple intentions for a single Mass and subsequently an equal number of stipends, which leads me to think that Holy Masses are becoming commercialised. Please explain this apparent payment for the celebration of Mass.

Answer: Since people use the word “stipend” in various ways, let us first define our terms. Besides the regular Sunday collection and the planned giving, there are various fees which are paid when the priest’s services are required, including stole fees, honoraria, and Mass stipends.

For a baptism, wedding or funeral, the minister should be given a fee. These stole fees are set annually by the bishop. These monies are supposed to be turned over to the parish funds, and are not kept by the priest. A family may wish to donate more, and may state that the priest should keep some of the money for himself.

A priest may not turn away any parishioner who cannot afford the set fee.

When a priest, or religious, or lay person gives a talk, or day of recollection, or retreat, an honorarium should be paid to compensate him or her. Once again, the diocese publishes recommended amounts each year.

A Mass stipend or offering, on the other hand, is a small amount of money that is given to the priest when someone asks for the Mass to be offered for a specific intention. Canon law has very strict rules to ensure that there is no hint of trading in or profiteering from these Mass stipends:

• A Mass stipend is a donation freely given. The priest is not allowed to “charge” for a Mass, and no one “pays for” a Mass.
• The amount suggested for the Mass stipend is set by the bishop. In Cape Town, for example, the Mass offering is currently set at R40. The priest may accept amounts higher than this when they are freely given, but he may not ask for more than the set amount.

The priest may not refuse to offer the Mass for the intention of someone who cannot afford the suggested offering.

• On Sundays and holy days, bishops and parish priests have the obligation to offer one Mass for the people (pro populo). This is done without accepting an offering.
• When a priest presides at more than one Mass on the same day, he may keep only one offering. All other amounts are to be sent to his ordinary (the bishop or the religious superior).
• Concelebrating priests may accept a stipend only if they will not be presiding at another Mass on the same day.
• If two families ask for a Mass at the same time, the priest may offer a Mass with a joint intention under certain strict conditions — for example, the two families must agree; the priest may keep only one stipend; and he may not resort to this practice more than twice a week.
• When a Mass offering is accepted, it should be recorded, and the date and time of the Mass should be made public (often in the parish newsletter).

Priests must seek always to prevent any suspicion or even perception that sacraments and services are being bought and sold. God’s grace is freely given, and the priest should not presume to put out his hand once he has invoked God’s blessing on a person, place or object. “You received without charge, give without charge” (Matthew 10:8).

Parishioners should be told how much the bishop stipulates for these services, and priests should ensure that they always account scrupulously for what they receive.

Sadly, however, one hears rumours about priests blatantly requesting large amounts of money for weddings and funerals, and that some take money at the door before admitting people to all-night vigils and healing services. Any parishioner who has evidence of wrongdoing should inform the bishop directly, for the good of the People of God.

(Fr Thomas Plastow SJ)

Asked and answered in the October 2022 issue of The Southern Cross magazine