Mass Intentions

Individuals wishing to honor a loved one during the celebration of Mass - for the living or the deceased or for prayerful remembrance of anniversaries, birthdays, and other special intentions appropriate to the celebration of the Eucharist - may request one of our assigned parish priests to offer a Mass Intention. Occasions may also include: World Mission Sunday, Respect Life Sunday, Catechetical Sunday, World Day for Consecrated Life, World Day of Peace, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

Mail your intention and donation of the faithful (check payable to Historic St. Boniface Catholic Church | St. Meinrad Catholic Church) to the address below. The suggested donation is $10 per Mass. A check for Mass intentions cannot include any other funds, such as a gift to the parish.

Custodian of Mass Intentions
Parish Office
PO BOX 8 
St. Meinrad, IN 47577-0008

Mass Intentions are scheduled as close to the date requested as possible. Please be aware that it can take up to 90 days for a Mass to be said with your particular intention. To give the opportunity for all parishioners to schedule a Mass intention for their loved ones and to accommodate recently deceased individuals, the online Mass Intention Book is open for 12 months according to the liturgical calendar, from the First Sunday of Advent until the Feast of Christ the King. Mass intentions can be scheduled up to one year in advance.

Individuals beyond the scope of an immediate family member may request a Mass Intention. It should not be presumed that individuals honoring a loved one are solely requested by the deceased’s immediate family. Often at the time of death or subsequent anniversaries, friends, neighbors, and other parishioners contact the parish directly to schedule a Mass Intention. Requests are honored on a first-come, first-serve basis in the order in which the request is received. The date of request shall be deemed the postmark.

Ten Mass intentions may be requested for a single remembrance or special intention by a single individual per calendar year. No more than two can be scheduled for a Sunday (Vigil for Sunday - Saturday Evening) or Holy Day. 

Mass intentions cannot be scheduled for:

• New Year's Day (Mary, the Holy Mother of God)*
• Ash Wednesday
• Holy Thursday
• Easter Vigil
• Easter Sunday
• Mother’s Day
• Memorial Day
• Father’s Day
• Independence Day
• Ascension of the Lord*
• Labor Day
• All Saints*
• All Souls (November 2)
• Veterans Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Immaculate Conception*
• Christmas Eve
• Christmas Day*

Canon Law requires that all stipends taken for Mass Intentions be said for the intention designated. 

One Mass every weekend, known as Pro Populo (For the People) is required by canon 534. The Pro Populo Mass is for the intentions (personal prayers and petitions) of the living members of St. Boniface Parish and St. Meinrad Parish. A pastor who has the care of several parishes is bound to apply only one Mass for the entire people entrusted to him each weekend and Holy Day. Scheduling of multiple ‘stipended’ intentions for one Mass is prohibited by Canon Law.

Because we get so many requests for Mass intentions, we cannot accept requests for novenas (nine consecutive Masses). Contact the Custodian of Mass Intentions at Saint Meinrad Archabbey, where novena Masses can be offered by one of the priest-monks.

For more information about Mass Intentions, contact Tina Boehm, Finance and Resource Coordinator, at (812) 357-6050 .

An envelope for Mass Intentions is included in the monthly envelope packet. Please make sure your check is made payable to the parish church, clearly marking in the memo Mass Intentions (6100.700). A check for Mass Intentions cannot include any other funds, such as a gift to the parish.

If you use online giving, you can make one-time or recurring gifts using debit cards, credit cards, or eChecks (ACH) St. Boniface Parishioners Make a Gift Here |  St. Meinrad Parishioners Make a Gift Here.

* Holy Day                                                                                                                      

Updated September 2023

A Mass intention is the specific purpose for which the priest offers that particular Mass allowed by Universal Law, the Code of Canon Law (canon 946). This intention has an elevated status on account of the priest’s sacramental ordination. The priest, acting in the person of Christ Himself, brings this single intention to God in an intensified and more complete way, offering that intention along with the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ to the Father in Heaven. The Mass intention is the primary purpose and reason why that Mass is offered.

To underscore the importance of this intention, the priest himself can normally only offer one stipend intention Mass per day. 

If the date requested is already taken, the intention of the Mass will be scheduled on the next available opening. The confirmed date for a scheduled Mass intention will be clearly identified in the email notification you will receive when the intention has been scheduled. If an email address is not on record, notification through the postal service will follow.