The Columbarium: R.I.P. to R.I.P.?

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Apart from Halloween decorations, have you ever seen R.I.P. written on a gravestone? You might have seen the full phrase rest in peace, or even the Latin requiescat in pace. But the abbreviation? I haven’t.

The strangeness of this never occurred to me until I was on a cemetery tour organized by the Louisville Free Public Library. (Libraries rule.) R.I.P. is a crucial element of the headstones we picture in our minds, but it’s difficult to find in real life.

Where did R.I.P. come from? Where did it go? [Insert obligatory “Cotton Eye Joe” joke here for the 90s kids.]

The Roman Catholic church can take credit for this one. The Latin version, requiescat in pace, literally means “may he begin to rest in peace,” and it began popping up on early Christian tombs in the 8th century. It wasn’t meant to be a simple epitaph, but rather a prayer. In fact, the phrase still often appears in Catholic Requiem Masses. 

As the Catholic church spread, so did requiescat in pace, which was eventually shortened to R.I.P.—a heck of a lot easier to carve. The Protestant Reformation didn’t stop its popularity. Instead, the various Christian denominations adopted R.I.P. for their own graves. 

By the 18th century, it was ubiquitous. And when R.I.P. came over to England, they made it easier to say by translating it into their own language—rest in peace. 

It’s easy to find the origins of the phrase, but as for why R.I.P. lives on in social media posts and not on gravestones? That’s harder to determine. 

Some think it has to do with the secularization of the phrase. As R.I.P. became associated with the physical body rather than the soul, it became a cliché—and no one wants their eternal resting place to be old hat. Trends come and go, even in the cemetery. 

Plus, monument makers no longer have to carve by hand, so abbreviations aren’t necessary. They can laser cut a whole book on there if that’s your style.

What do you want on your tombstone? (Again, for the 90s kids. Tombstone pizza commercials? Anyone?) Whether it’s R.I.P. or something else entirely, you have options. Monument companies typically offer dozens of designs; here’s an example. 

Remember, the cost of a headstone is separate from the cost of a cemetery plot, which is separate from the cost of the casket, which is separate from the cost of preparing the body. It’s a lot to think about. More to consider here. 

Sources: Lee’s Summit Tribune, ThoughtCo, Funeral Help Center