Digital Prayer Cards for Apple and Google Wallet

What's Included on Your Prayer Card

Every digital prayer card created through Candela includes the following:

• Your loved one's photo. A portrait or favorite photo displayed on the front of the card.
• Their full name. The name they were known by, displayed prominently.
• Birth and passing dates. The dates that frame their life.
• A prayer or personal message. Choose a traditional prayer, a favorite scripture, a poem, or your own words.
• A QR code. Links directly to their memorial page, where family and friends can view photos, leave guestbook entries, and light virtual candles.

The card is designed to feel reverent and personal. It is not an advertisement or a notification. It is a quiet reminder of someone you love, sitting in the same place as your boarding passes and event tickets.

How It Works

Creating and sharing a digital prayer card takes three steps:

1. Create a memorial. Add your loved one's name, dates, photo, and a few words about who they were. Your prayer card is generated automatically as part of the memorial.
2. Choose a prayer or message. Select a traditional prayer from any faith tradition, write something personal, or use a favorite quote or scripture. You can change it anytime.
3. Share it. Send a link or share a QR code with family and friends. When they tap the link or scan the code, the prayer card is added to their Apple Wallet or Google Wallet. No app download required.

Once someone adds the card to their wallet, it stays on their phone permanently. They can view it from their lock screen or wallet app, even without an internet connection.

Prayer Cards Across Faith Traditions

Prayer cards have a long history across many faith traditions. Catholic families have exchanged prayer cards at funerals for generations, often featuring a saint's image and the Eternal Rest Prayer. Greek Orthodox families use memorial cards with traditional prayers and icons. Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and secular families each have their own ways of honoring the departed.

Digital prayer cards carry these traditions forward. The format is new, but the purpose is the same: to keep a loved one's memory close and to offer comfort through familiar words.

Read more about specific traditions:

• Greek Orthodox prayer cards with traditional prayers, icons, and customs
• Catholic prayer cards featuring the Eternal Rest Prayer, Prayer of St. Francis, and more

What to Write on a Prayer Card

Choosing the right words for a prayer card can feel overwhelming during a difficult time. Some families choose a traditional prayer. Others prefer a favorite poem, a line of scripture, or something written in their own words. There is no wrong choice.

Our guide covers prayers and messages organized by faith tradition, tone, and relationship, with examples you can use directly or adapt.

Read the full guide: what to write on a prayer card

Digital vs. Printed Prayer Cards

Traditional printed prayer cards have been part of funeral services for generations. They are tangible, familiar, and meaningful. Digital prayer cards are not a replacement for printed cards. They are a complement.

A printed card can sit on a nightstand or be tucked into a prayer book. A digital card lives on your phone, where you see it every day. Many families choose both. Others choose one or the other based on what feels right.

Compare digital and printed prayer cards side by side

Prayer Card Templates

If you are not sure where to start, our free templates give you a fill-in-the-blank structure for prayer cards across faith traditions and styles. Traditional, modern, Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, military, and secular options are all available.

Browse free prayer card templates

Prayer Card Guides

Explore our complete collection of prayer card resources:

• What to Write on a Prayer Card
  Prayers, quotes, and personal messages organized by faith tradition and tone.
• Digital vs. Printed Prayer Cards
  A side-by-side comparison of digital wallet cards and traditional printed cards.
• Greek Orthodox Prayer Cards
  Prayers, icons, and traditions for Greek Orthodox memorial cards.
• QR Codes for Funeral Programs
  How to use QR codes to connect printed programs to digital memorials.
• Catholic Prayer Cards
  Traditional Catholic prayers, saints, and customs for prayer cards.
• Free Prayer Card Templates
  Fill-in-the-blank templates for prayer cards across faith traditions.

Frequently Asked Questions