Requesting a Mass Intention
A Mass intention is a special remembrance during the celebration of the Eucharist. You can request that a Mass be offered for a specific person or intention—whether for someone who has died, someone who is ill, or in thanksgiving for blessings received.
What is a Mass intention?
When you request a Mass intention, you're asking that the fruits of the Mass be applied to a particular person or purpose. This practice has ancient roots in the Church and remains one of the most meaningful ways to pray for others.
Common intentions include:
- For the deceased — praying for the repose of a loved one's soul
- For the living — prayers for healing, thanksgiving, or special needs
- Special intentions — anniversaries, birthdays, or other significant occasions
The customary stipend (offering) you provide supports the priest and parish. It's not a payment for the Mass itself—the Mass is priceless—but a way of participating in the Church's mission.
Finding available Masses
Navigate to Mass Intentions from your parish's home page or menu. You'll see a calendar showing all scheduled Masses.
Understanding the calendar colors:
- Green Mass events — available for intention requests
- Gray/Muted Mass events — no availability (all slots filled or no celebrant available)
- Liturgical colors — feast days appear as all‑day items in their proper liturgical color (violet for Advent/Lent, white for solemnities, etc.)
To find a specific Mass:
- Use the month navigation arrows or click the month/year to jump to a different period.
- Click Today to return to the current date.
- Use the Location dropdown if your parish has multiple worship spaces.
- Toggle Show Liturgical Feasts to see or hide feast day information.
Click View Available Masses for a searchable table. You can filter by date range, location, day of week, and time—helpful when you need flexibility on which Mass to request.
Selecting a Mass and filling out the form
Click any green (available) Mass event on the calendar—or use View Available Masses—to select a specific Mass, then fill out the intention request form.
Required fields:
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Intention Type | Select from the dropdown (e.g., "For the Deceased," "For the Sick," "Thanksgiving") |
| Intention | The specific intention, such as "For the repose of the soul of John Smith" or "For Mary's recovery from surgery" |
| First Name | Your first name as the requester |
| Last Name | Your last name as the requester |
| Your email address for confirmations and receipts |
Optional fields:
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Phone | Contact number if the parish needs to reach you |
| Requested by | Optional name to display in the bulletin instead of your own |
| Additional Notes | Private notes for the parish (not published) |
| Private Intention | If enabled, the bulletin shows “Special Intention” instead of your full intention text |
| Hide requester name from bulletin | If enabled, your name won’t appear in the bulletin |
Above the form, you'll see the Mass details: date, time, location, celebrant (or "Priest to be determined"), and the suggested stipend.
Some Masses don't have a celebrant assigned yet. Your intention will still be honored at that Mass—the parish will assign a priest before the celebration.
Public vs. private intentions
By default, your intention may be printed in the parish bulletin or announced during Mass. This is a beautiful way to invite the community to join in prayer.
If you prefer to keep your intention confidential:
- Enable the Private Intention toggle on the form.
- Your intention will still be offered at Mass, but the bulletin will display “Special Intention” instead of the full intention text.
Some parishes also offer a Hide requester name from bulletin option—your intention appears, but your name as the requester does not.
Adding to your cart
After completing the form, click Add to Cart. The system reserves your slot temporarily while you continue shopping or proceed to checkout.
Your reservation is held for approximately 10 minutes—a timer at the top of your cart shows the remaining time. If the timer expires before you check out, the slot becomes available to others again, so add any additional intentions and proceed to checkout promptly.
Complete your purchase within the time shown, or you may lose your reserved slots. You can always request the same Mass again if slots are still available.
Reviewing your cart
Click the cart icon to review your items before checkout. For each intention, you'll see the intention text and type, Mass details (date, time, location, celebrant), your name as requester, and the stipend amount.
You can remove individual items or click Clear Cart to start over. For unscheduled intentions, you can also adjust quantities.
Some parishes offer additional options at checkout: an Additional Offering field to add an extra donation, and a Cover Transaction Fee toggle to help offset credit card processing costs. Your total appears at the bottom, reflecting any additions.
Completing checkout
When ready, click Proceed to Checkout. You'll be directed to a secure payment page powered by Stripe.
- Enter your payment information (card number, expiration, security code).
- Complete the payment.
- You'll return to a success page confirming your request.
What happens next:
- Parish staff reviews your intention request
- Once approved, it will be scheduled for the selected Mass
- You’ll receive an email confirmation with the final details (and a receipt link when available)
- The priest will offer the Mass for your intention on the scheduled date
You can request intentions as a guest. However, creating an account lets you track all your intentions in one place, access receipts anytime, and speeds up future requests with saved information.
If you need to cancel
If you close the browser or navigate away during checkout, your cart items remain reserved briefly. Return to the cart page to resume, or re-add your intentions if reservations have expired (slots permitting).
After completing payment: Contact your parish office directly if you need to cancel or modify a submitted intention. Online changes aren't available after payment.
Tracking your intention (guests)
If you requested an intention without an account, you can still track it:
- Note the reference number shown on the success page
- Go to Track Order (link available on the success page)
- Enter your email and reference number to view your intention status
With an account, all your intentions appear in your dashboard automatically—no reference numbers to remember.
Other intention types
Besides regular scheduled Masses, your parish may offer:
- Unscheduled Intentions — Request an intention without selecting a specific Mass; the parish schedules it for you
- Gregorian Masses — A series of 30 consecutive Masses for a deceased person (a venerable Church tradition)
- Early Requests — Request intentions for dates beyond the typical scheduling window
Look for these options in the calendar header or consult your parish office.
What's next
- Your Shopping Cart and Checkout — detailed cart and payment information
- Unscheduled and Special Intentions — other ways to request intentions
- Your Parishioner Dashboard — track your intentions after creating an account
Related articles
- Creating an Account — register to track intentions and access receipts
- Viewing Mass Times — find your parish's Mass schedule
- Troubleshooting: Updates Not Showing — if calendar availability seems incorrect