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The Evolution of Funeral Prayer Cards

When people attend funeral services at funeral homes, they often leave with a prayer card tucked in their pocket. Most families provide prayer cards to those who show up for a loved one’s funeral services so that they can continue to pray for the deceased moving forward. Prayer cards also help people remember the date that a person died. Prayer cards have evolved quite a bit over the years, though. Here is what you need to know about their history.

The earliest prayer cards

There’s nothing new about prayer cards. One of the first prayer cards ever was created way back in the 15th century. It was a woodcut print that had a picture of Saint Christopher on it. These types of prayer cards obviously weren’t handed out to everyone at a funeral, but they did help pay tribute to a deceased person.

The gradual evolution of prayer cards

While many of the first prayer cards were handmade and very difficult to duplicate, prayer cards started to become more popular at funeral services in the 1700s. Many of these prayer cards were printed on thick cardboard and featured silver leaf embellishments on them. They were very beautiful creations that paid the proper homage to the deceased.

The prayer cards of today

Prayer cards have certainly come a long way over the years and look a lot different today than they did several hundred years ago. They’re often printed on much thinner paper these days, and they’re usually laminated as well. Additionally, older prayer cards used to have images of Jesus Christ hanging on the cross on them. Today’s prayer cards often depict Jesus resurrecting and offer up hope to grieving families.

Just about all funeral homes offer families the opportunity to give out prayer cards during funeral services. If your funeral home would like to start offering a variety of prayer cards to families, Johnstown Hearse Rental can help. Call us at 800-452-2249 today to order prayer cards for your funeral home.

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