Pall is a thick cloth used for covering a coffin.
Centuries ago, when the pall was first used, it was generally black, the color of death and mourning. In Scotland the black pall was called a mort-cloth; it was used to cover the bodies of the poor who could not afford caskets. In the Netherlands, even the horses that drew the hearse were draped with a black pall.
Today, palls are usually white. As part of the liturgical renewal that has followed Vatican II, the primary emphasis in Catholic funerals has moved from mourning the death to expressing hope in the resurrection.
Other communions as well have adopted liturgies that resonate with the promise that all who are baptized into Christ have "clothed themselves" with Christ, and that all who are buried with Christ in baptism will be raised with him in newness of life. Palls are often adorned with Christian symbols that focus on Christ and on the resurrection.
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