What is the sacred cloth that covers the casket at funerals?

Answer 1

The sacred cloth which covers the casket during the Christian funeral service is a pall.

The expression has its origin in the Latin word "pallium", meaning cloak.

The use of a pall for covering the coffin began in the Middle Ages; originally the palls had bright colors and featured religious patterns like crosses and other holy symbols. Later more simple black and eventually white palls came in use. The white color, which dominates nowadays, symbolizes the clothes worn at baptism - death being regarded as the birth of man into a new, eternal life and as the Christian's way to resurrection. From a Christian perspective, the fact that one and the same pall is used for all deceased without regard to their social standing should be understood as a symbol of the Christian faith in the equality of all men before God. In the church - before God - the differences of the cheap and expensive, simple and lavish caskets as well as those of rich an poor deceased disappear under the cover of one and the same holy cloth because these differences are without any importance in the eyes of God. The pall is placed upon the casket as soon as it enters the church and it will remain on the coffin during church ceremonies. The pall will be removed either when the casket leaves the church or at the graveside respectively in the crematory just before the final disposition of the casket with the body in it.

Answer 2

The cloth placed over a coffin is called a Paul. When placed over the body itself, rather than the coffin it is called a Shroud.