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{{trope}}
{{quote|''...I smelled chrism oil: the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. It's often - erroneously - called Last Rites, and it's often portrayed that way in movies, but in fact, it's often done for anyone suffering from a serious illness or trauma.''
|From ''[[The Teraverse|It's Just A Habit]]'' by "Captain Boulanger"}}
The
The Last Rites as performed in the Roman Catholic Church are probably the most commonly seen in media, and are composed of a combination of three sacraments: the Anointing of the Sick (sometimes referred to as ''Unction'' or ''Supreme Unction''), Penance (sometimes also known as ''Confession'' or ''Reconciliation''), and the Eucharist (''Holy Communion''; when received in expectation of immediate death, it is called ''Viaticum'', which is Latin for "provision for the journey"). If the person in immediate danger of death is not baptised (usually this will be a "cradle Catholic" infant), an emergency baptism may also be performed. This is the sole exception to the rule that the Sacrament of Baptism be conducted by an ordained priest or deacon; in such a circumstance, if no ordained clergy is available, any confirmed Catholic may perform a sacramentally valid baptism.
When the Last Rites appear in fiction (if they appear at all), they are almost always and only depicted as the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick from Catholicism, to the point that the Anointing is frequently mistaken outside of fiction as being the entirety of the Last Rites, and sometimes mistaken for [[Christianity Is Catholic|a ''universally'' Christian ritual]]. It's also mistakenly presented as ''only'' ever used for those in immediate danger of death, but in reality it is performed on those suffering from severe illness or injury, even if their condition is not immediately life-threatening. In reality, it is the reception of the Eucharist -- called in this instance the ''Viaticum'' (Latin for "provision for the journey") -- that is the only sacrament essentially associated with dying, not the Anointing. And ''neither'' can be administered to the deceased:▼
▲When the Last Rites appear in fiction (if they appear at all), they are almost always and only depicted as the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick from Catholicism, to the point that the Anointing is frequently mistaken outside of fiction as being the entirety of the Last Rites, and sometimes mistaken for [[Christianity Is Catholic|a ''universally'' Christian ritual]]. It's also mistakenly presented as being used ''only''
{{quote|When a priest has been called to attend a person who is already dead, he is not to administer the sacrament of anointing. Instead, he should pray for the dead person, asking that God forgive his or her sins and graciously receive him or her into the kingdom. It is appropriate that he lead the family and friends, if they are present, in some of the prayers suggested at the end of the “Commendation of the Dying"...|"Rites for Emergencies" at the ''[http://www.ibreviary.com/m/preghiere.php?tipo{{=}}Rito&id{{=}}229|iBrevary]''}}▼
If a priest is summoned in a Last Rites situation, but the patient dies prior to their arrival, ''none'' of the sacraments may be administered:
That doesn't stop scriptwriters from having priest characters do it anyway.▼
▲{{quote|When a priest has been called to attend a person who is already dead, he is not to administer the sacrament of anointing. Instead, he should pray for the dead person, asking that God forgive his or her sins and graciously receive him or her into the kingdom. It is appropriate that he lead the family and friends, if they are present, in some of the prayers suggested at the end of the
This trope encompasses all use, misuse or misidentification of the Last Rites in fiction, including the use of Roman Catholic rites in non-Catholic contexts.▼
▲That doesn't stop scriptwriters from having priest characters
▲This trope encompasses all use, misuse or misidentification of the "Last Rites" in fiction, including the use of Roman Catholic rites in non-Catholic contexts.
Contrast [[Due to the Dead]], which are rites performed ''after'' death.
{{deathtrope}}
{{examples}}
== [[Fan Works]] ==
* [[Averted Trope|Averted]] ''and'' [[Discussed Trope|discussed]] in the [[The Teraverse|"Teraverse"]]
* ''[[Astral Journey: It's Complicated]]'': [[Spice Girls|Emma]] sees her body being given this, despite getting better later on. She considers it as "back-up".
== [[Film]] ==
* In ''[[On the Waterfront]]'', local parish priest Father Barry performs the Anointing as the "last rites" on Joey's body.
* Deliberately invoked in ''[[La Dolce Vita]]'', which uses explicit parodies of various sacraments including the Last Rites as devices to reveal the fundamental hypocrisy of the modern world.
* The beginning of the escape sequence from ''[[Johnny Dangerously]]'' has one of his [[Mooks]] pretending to be a priest giving him the last rites in mangled [[Dog Latin]]:
{{quote|'''Charley:''' ''Dominus vobiscum nabisco. Espiritu sanctum. De gustibus. Me gustibus. You gustibus. We missed the bus. They missed the bus. When's the next bus? Summa cum laude. Magna cum laude. The radio's too laude. Adeste fidelis. Centra fidelis. High fidelis. Post meridian. Ante meridian. Uncle meridian. All of the little meridians. Magna carta. Master charga. Dum procellas. Lotsa Vitalis.'' }}
* Father Mulcahy is frequently seen administering the Last Rites in ''[[M*A*S*H (television)|M*A*S*H]]''. We rarely get to see him do more than begin the process, though, but it's clear that it's the Anointing that he
{{Needs More Examples}}
▲== Live-Action Television ==
▲* Father Mulcahy is frequently seen administering the Last Rites in ''[[M*A*S*H (television)|M*A*S*H]]''. We rarely get to see him do more than begin the process, though, but it's clear that it's the Anointing that he's performing, not the Viaticum -- if only because he's usually performing it on an unconscious soldier.
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[[Category:Religion Tropes]]
[[Category:Rituals and Ceremonies]]
[[Category:Pages Original to All The Tropes]]
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