Prayer book

Vespers from the Office of the Dead

Officium defunctorum

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About this text

Use Evening Prayer from the currently authorized US English Office of the Dead. The linked DivineOffice.org resource reproduces the 1974 ICEL English Liturgy of the Hours with permission and provides choices for a man, a woman, several people, or relatives and benefactors. A historical 1915 edition is retained as a textual reference; its inclusion is not a representation that the older form is the current liturgical book. The indulgenced work is devout Lauds or Vespers, not merely opening or scanning the resource. DivineOffice.org restricts access/use to the United States and follows the US approved text and calendar; outside the United States, use the edition authorized locally.

Use an ecclesiastically approved text when fulfilling a prayer grant. The displayed forms retain their own source histories and need not be literal line-by-line counterparts.

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These forms are provided at their cited sources. A linked source is not reproduced as a new translation here.

English source

Office of the Dead — Evening Prayer

US English Liturgy of the Hours (1974 ICEL translation), shown for a deceased man. The source offers other forms for the deceased. Access and use are restricted to the United States; elsewhere use the edition authorized locally.

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Estimated English reading time 8–14 minutes

How the estimate was made

Complete prayer text of the linked ordinary-season form, with each ordinary canticle antiphon recited before and after the canticle. Mutually alternative Easter antiphons/collect, section headings, music credits and sacred-silence instructions are excluded. Editorial vocal pace 100–160 words/minute, rounded outward; no prescribed minimum.

Complete recited English Evening Prayer for one deceased man, using the ordinary-season canticle antiphons and concluding prayer. Easter alternatives and the source’s choice headings are excluded. Chant, sacred silence and choices for other deceased persons change the time. This estimates the actual Office text rather than an isolated opening formula.

Related indulgenced works

The prayer text alone does not establish eligibility. Read the work, occasion, and conditions for each grant.

Status labels below reflect the catalog as of 27 October 2026.

Text sources

Historical prayer-book references are textual witnesses. Their old indulgence tariffs are not used as present grant authority. Consult the related grant record for the current work, occasion, and conditions.