Founder & pastoral purpose

Built to make a difficult week a little gentler.

I’m Giuseppe Njualem, a Catholic seminarian serving the Diocese of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. After being actively involved in many funeral preparations, I built Catholic Funeral Program to help families carry the practical work with greater calm, clarity, and dignity.

  • Catholic seminary formation
  • Funeral-preparation experience
  • Founder-led product support
Seminarian Giuseppe Njualem, founder of Catholic Funeral Program
Giuseppe Njualem Catholic seminarian & founder
A personal note

Funeral planning happens while a family is already carrying enough.

I have seen how quickly the decisions arrive: the parish meeting, Scripture readings, music, ministers, obituary, photograph, names, dates, and a booklet that still has to be reviewed and printed. These are important details, but they come at a moment when the people making them are grieving.

My involvement in Catholic funeral preparations showed me that the hardest part is often not a lack of love or care. It is having too many moving pieces, too little time, and no single place where the family, priest, music director, and funeral coordinator can bring their work together.

That is why I created Catholic Funeral Program: to turn a complicated, time-sensitive task into a calm series of understandable steps. The goal is not to make a funeral impersonal. It is to remove avoidable stress so there is more room for prayer, remembrance, family, and the pastoral care that matters most.

“I wanted families to feel guided, never rushed—and to arrive at the parish conversation with their wishes organized, their questions visible, and one less burden to carry.”

— Giuseppe Njualem
How the product earns trust

Careful about what the tool can do—and honest about what it cannot.

The program is designed to support a parish conversation, not replace one. Every family preference remains subject to the responsible parish, presider, and local diocesan practice.

01

Catholic structure first

The planning flow distinguishes the Vigil, Funeral Liturgy, and Rite of Committal, with separate forms for Mass, a liturgy outside Mass, memorial circumstances, and children.

See the order-of-service guide
02

The parish remains the authority

The builder organizes preferences and questions. It never claims to approve readings, music, ministers, adaptations, or the final order for a particular celebration.

See the parish workflow
03

Copyright handled honestly

Protected Lectionary wording, ritual prayers, and copyrighted hymn lyrics are not quietly copied into the product. Scripture references, original summaries, verified public-domain hymn words, and optional traditional Latin participation texts remain available for parish review.

Review the reading references
04

Private, founder-led support

Drafts stay private by default. A memorial share page exists only when the organizer deliberately creates one; it is unlisted, noindex, bearer-link protected, revocable, and time-limited. When a printing deadline is close, a real support channel—and the founder’s direct contact information—remain available.

Contact Catholic Funeral Program
Independent and parish-respectful

A planning and design service—not a Church authority.

Catholic Funeral Program is independently built and operated. It is not affiliated with or approved by the USCCB, ICEL, a diocese, parish, or funeral home. Giuseppe’s seminary formation and funeral-preparation experience inform the care behind the product; they do not replace the judgment of the priest, parish, or other responsible Church authority.

Questions about the product are welcome at support@catholicfuneralprogram.com. Liturgical decisions for a particular funeral should always be confirmed with the parish conducting it.

Begin gently

Bring the details you know. The builder will help organize the rest.

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