Pontes assists you with a tailor-made funeral ceremony. At our three locations in Antwerp, Turnhout and Lommel, we welcome you in our stylish, well-equipped auditoriums.
Our experienced funeral service staff will assist you and your funeral director before, during and after the funeral ceremony.
During a funeral ceremony, relatives, friends and acquaintances can pay their last respects to the deceased. This ceremony can take place at Pontes before the cremation (at the coffin) or after the cremation (at the urn).
Even if cremation is not chosen, our auditoriums can be reserved for a farewell ceremony.
Our auditoriums are open to everyone, regardless of belief or religion. Our key words here are accessibility, freedom of choice, neutrality and serenity.
The content of a ceremony is entirely up to you. Every religious or philosophical belief is respected and can be accommodated at Pontes.
There are several options for the content of a funeral ceremony:
either the funeral director or someone he calls upon (a ritual counsellor) takes care of this;
or a prayer leader (for Christian-inspired services) or a liberal humanist consultant from the House of Man (for liberal ceremonies) can be called upon;
or the next of kin can call on a crematorium employee to take care of the farewell moment. Pontes refers to this as a “substantive ceremony”.
160 seats
(these can be combined to create 250 seats)
The format of a ceremony is entirely flexible. All religious or philosophical beliefs are respected and can be accommodated at Pontes.
There are several options for the content of a farewell ceremony:
either the funeral director or someone they engage (a ritual counsellor) will take care of this;
or a minister (for Christian-inspired services) or a liberal humanist consultant from the Huis van de Mens (for liberal ceremonies) may be called upon;
or the bereaved may ask a member of staff at the crematorium to conduct the farewell (so-called civil ceremonies).
In all these cases, the bereaved may also provide their own texts, music, photographs and/or videos. Family, friends and/or acquaintances may read out texts. Live music is also an option. Ultimately, the bereaved determine the course and content of the farewell ceremony.
However, it is important to note a number of key points:
all audio-visual files must be supplied by the funeral director and/or the bereaved in good time (i.e. no later than 8 am on the day before the service); this enables us to prepare everything thoroughly and test the audio-visual presentation so that nothing goes wrong during the farewell ceremony;
the funeral director and the bereaved must take into account the maximum duration of the service (see below); we therefore advise against overloading the programme for a farewell service with too many speakers, photographs and musical pieces.
The family rooms adjoining the ceremonial halls can be booked together with the hall itself. These are intimate spaces where close family members can gather in peace and quiet to prepare for the ceremony. It is also possible to book the family room separately, for example for a very intimate farewell.
The bereaved are free to choose the music for the funeral service. Please ensure that any visual, audio or video material is delivered to the crematorium staff by 8 am on the day before the service. This will allow them to set everything up and test it in good time. Live music is also an option.
The duration of a funeral service is 75 minutes. It is possible to extend this duration if requested in advance. Particularly if the family expects a large number of visitors or if there are many speakers and musical performances scheduled, we ask that you let us know in good time.
If the agreed duration is not adhered to, we may charge a penalty. It is the responsibility of the funeral director and the bereaved to draw up a realistic plan for the funeral service.
The condolence period may take place before the service (when visitors are welcomed in the waiting area) or after the service has concluded. It is in everyone’s interest to coordinate the schedule of the funeral service in advance with the crematorium staff.
The bereaved can have the funeral service recorded. The recording will be provided on a USB stick or via WeTransfer, so that it can be watched again at any time in the future.
For those unable to attend the funeral service, the bereaved can request a live stream in advance. An access code can then be used to log in remotely, allowing everyone to follow the service live.
For people who are unable to attend the funeral service, the next of kin can request live streaming in advance.
An access code can then be used to log in remotely. This allows everyone to follow the funeral service live.
