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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nLeneghan says that while serving at funerals for people who have little or no family is \u201cpretty heartbreaking and sad,\u201d it also helps him appreciate the role family plays in his own life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt makes you appreciate more of what you are, and who you are as a person,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saint Ignatius High School launched its pallbearer program in 2003, starting with 12 students who served three funerals in the first year. Now, about 400 students at the school participate, serving between 150 to 180 funerals annually.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are other schools around the country that now run their own pallbearer ministries, including Catholic Memorial, a college preparatory school in West Roxbury, Massachusetts; University of Detroit Jesuit high school and academy in Detroit; and McQuaid Jesuit, a private preparatory school in Rochester, New York. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Blaise Weidmann, 16, a junior at McQuaid Jesuit, says he and his fellow student pallbearers underwent special training to serve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe had to learn how the casket comes out of the hearse, how we carry it,\u201d he tells TODAY.com. \u201cWe practiced a few times carrying and just getting the steps and how fast or slow we have to walk with it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Their role at a funeral isn\u2019t simply to carry the casket, but also to offer spiritual support, sometimes joining in prayer and singing hymns \u201cto honor the soul of the person who passed away,\u201d Weidmann says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Student pallbearers typically volunteer at a range of services, including funerals for poor or elderly people with no surviving family members, as well as for nuns and people outside the Roman Catholic faith. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really extraordinary to take note of someone who was left to die in the cold on the street,\u201d Richard Mazyck, campus ministry and service coordinator for University of Detroit Jesuit school, told TODAY.com in 2023<\/a>. \u201cThey have no family and friends that anyone is able to contact. … It\u2019s a reminder that every person, especially in the Christian religious tradition, is made in the image of God and is deserving of a particular regard and respect.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Saint Ignatius students also participate in an annual service at Potter\u2019s Field, a burial ground for the homeless in the Cleveland area. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019ve served at funerals where literally the only people in attendance are the six pallbearers, the adult that drives them, the funeral director and the priest,\u201d Pat Valletta, who coordinates Saint Ignatius\u2019 pallbearer program, tells TODAY.com. \u201cAnd we\u2019ve been at other funeral homes or funerals where there\u2019s been 100 people there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even when family members of the deceased person are present, student pallbearers can serve as a valuable source of comfort. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Evan Solar, 18, a senior at Saint Ignatius, remembers one touching moment he shared with a woman during a funeral on the west side of Cleveland in April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe always hand out a card, a sympathy card to the family,\u201d he said. \u201cThe woman who I handed it to \u2026 wasn\u2019t being super emotional throughout, but when we handed her the card, she broke down in tears and was just so appreciative and thankful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Schools with pallbearer programs have served veterans as part of their services. In 2017, Catholic Memorial college preparatory school began hosting funeral processions for veterans who died without friends or loved ones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Services often take place in the school\u2019s chapel, or in the school\u2019s gym in front of the entire student body. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cKids begin to recognize that those are people who have sacrificed much and have displayed incredible courage, duty and honor,\u201d Peter Folan, president of Catholic Memorial, told TODAY.com<\/a> in 2023. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd now in their final moments, for a whole host of reasons, some of which we don\u2019t know enough about each individual, they are alone \u2014 and we\u2019re here to stand with them and bring them into our community,\u201d he continued. \u201cThat has a transformational impact on a 15- or 16-year-old young man.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/states-news.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-21-184226.png\")
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