Catholic Prayers for the Sick and Dying: 20 Prayers for the Bedside

1. Calling a Priest: Anointing, Viaticum and the Last Rites

The "last rites" are the sacraments the Church gives to a Catholic in danger of death: confession, the Anointing of the Sick and Holy Communion given as Viaticum, which means "food for the journey" (CCC 1524-1525). A priest may also give the Apostolic Pardon, a plenary indulgence for the dying. Every Catholic in danger of death has a right to Viaticum (Code of Canon Law, canon 921), and the Anointing is for anyone who begins to be in danger through sickness or old age (canon 1004). Do not wait for the final hours. Call when the illness turns serious, while the person can still confess and receive Communion.

1. Phone the parish or chaplain today. Use the words in the blue box above. Hospitals, hospices and care homes can page a chaplain.
2. Tell the priest what the person can do. Can they speak? Swallow? Are they conscious? He will bring what is needed.
3. Prepare the room. A crucifix, a candle if allowed, holy water, a small cloth and a glass of water. A table cleared beside the bed.
4. Give them privacy for confession. Step out when the priest asks. Come back in for the Anointing and Communion and pray the responses.
5. If they are unconscious, call anyway. The priest can still anoint; the Church gives the sacrament when there is doubt (canon 1005). Do not decide on the priest's behalf that "it is too late."
6. If no priest can come in time, pray with the person yourself, using the prayers on this page. Help them make an act of contrition. God is not bound by the sacraments, and His mercy reaches where the priest cannot.

Our guide on preparing for death as a Catholic explains each of the last sacraments in depth, and our guide to caring for aging parents covers when to ask for the Anointing as a parent declines.

2. Catholic Prayers for the Sick

The Catholic prayer for the sick asks God for healing if it is His will, and for strength, peace and holiness in any case. The Church prays this way in her own rites, and so should we. Pray these three for anyone who is seriously ill. For prayers that focus on a cure, including prayers to St Raphael, Our Lady of Lourdes, St Peregrine and St Pio, go to our collection of Catholic prayers for healing.

3. Prayers Before the Last Sacraments

The best preparation for the last sacraments is sorrow for sin and trust in mercy. Help your loved one pray these, or pray them aloud slowly on their behalf. A person who cannot speak can still pray in the heart, and God hears it.

4. Prayers at the Bedside of the Dying

Prayer for the dying is one of the oldest works of mercy in the Church, and anyone can do it: family, friends, nurses, strangers. Pray aloud, slowly and calmly. Hold their hand. Put a crucifix where they can see it, or a rosary in their fingers. The Church's own rite for the commendation of the dying includes Scripture readings, a short litany of the saints and the prayer "Go forth, Christian soul"; ask the priest, deacon or chaplain to lead it with the family. The five prayers below can be prayed by anyone, at any hour.

The Hail Mary is the prayer most Catholics say thousands of times for "the hour of our death." Pray a decade of the Rosary at the bedside, and the dying person may move their lips with you. Our guide to praying the Rosary has the full method. For more bedside prayers suited to an elderly parent, see our prayers for the elderly.

5. Prayers for a Dying Loved One

A prayer for a dying loved one is the hardest prayer you will ever pray, because it asks God to do His will with someone you cannot imagine losing. Tell Him that. He wept at the tomb of His friend Lazarus (John 11:35); He is not offended by your tears. Pray the prayer below that fits, and use their name.

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6. Prayers for Carers

Carers of the sick and dying do holy work, and most of them are exhausted, grieving early and feeling guilty for every short temper. Caring for the sick is a corporal work of mercy, and Jesus counts it as done to Him (Matthew 25:40). These prayers are for spouses, children, nurses, hospice staff and anyone who sits up at night with the dying.

If caring has pushed you past your limit, read our guide to caring for aging parents as a Catholic, which covers burnout, siblings, respite and care homes. Our prayers for strength in hard times are written for carers running on empty.

7. Prayers at the Moment of Death

When death comes, pray. The Church has a prayer for the moment just after death, and it is one of the most beautiful she has: a cry to the saints and angels to come and meet the soul. Say it even through tears. Then close their eyes, make the Sign of the Cross on their forehead and take a moment before you call anyone.

From this moment on, your prayer for your loved one changes: you pray for the dead, and Catholics never stop. Our collection of Catholic prayers for the dead gives Eternal Rest, the De Profundis, prayers for a deceased parent, spouse or child, and how to have Masses offered for them.

8. How to Be Present at a Deathbed

Being present at a deathbed means staying calm, staying close and saying what needs to be said while there is still time. Nobody is taught how to do this, so here is what helps, from the Church's long practice and from those who work in hospice care.

1. Get the sacraments in first. Everything else on this list matters less than confession, the Anointing and Viaticum.
2. Say the four things. "I love you." "Thank you." "I forgive you." "Please forgive me." Say them now; do not save them for the last hour.
3. Assume they can hear you. Hospice staff often say hearing may be among the last senses to fade. Speak gently and kindly in the room. Pray aloud.
4. Pray simply. The Our Father, the Hail Mary, the Jesus, Mary and Joseph prayer, Psalm 23. Familiar prayers reach a fading mind that new words cannot.
5. Use the signs of faith. A crucifix in view, a rosary in their hands, a sprinkle of holy water, a quiet hymn they loved.
6. Give permission. Some people seem to hold on for their family. Tell them it is all right to go to God, and that you will be cared for.
7. Take turns. No one can keep vigil alone for days. Make a rota, sleep, eat and step outside.
8. Forgive yourself in advance. Many people step out for a coffee and miss the moment of death. It is not a failure of love. Many families come to believe their loved one chose that moment.

If the dying person is afraid, read our guide to the fear of death and how to prepare together. It offers words of hope you can read aloud.

9. Pain Relief, Treatment and the Church

The Catholic Church supports good pain relief and palliative care for the dying, even when strong painkillers may shorten life as a foreseen but unintended effect, so long as death is neither willed as an end nor as a means (CCC 2279). The Church does not require burdensome, dangerous or disproportionate treatment, and a patient may refuse it so as to accept death when it comes (CCC 2278). Ordinary care such as food, water and comfort is normally continued. Euthanasia and assisted suicide, deliberately ending a life to end suffering, are gravely wrong, whatever the law in your country (CCC 2277).

Make treatment decisions with the doctors, the patient and, if you can, a priest or Catholic hospital chaplain. Never stop a prescribed medicine on your own. If you want the full teaching, including feeding tubes and advance directives, read our guide to euthanasia and Catholic end-of-life teaching.

Other Christians care for the dying in their own ways. Eastern Orthodox Christians receive Holy Unction and Communion and read the Canon for the Departure of the Soul. Anglicans and Lutherans have rites of Communion and commendation for the dying. Most evangelical Protestants pray, read Scripture and sing hymns at the bedside, trusting that the believer goes straight to be with Christ (Philippians 1:23). All Christians share the hope of the resurrection. Catholics add the sacraments as Christ's own hands reaching the dying, and the Church's ongoing prayer after death.

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