All Souls Memorial committal service at Calvary Catholic Cemetery & Mausoleum
LINCOLN (CC/SNR) – Family members consoled and hugged one another, heard words of hope and comfort, and then laid to rest 52 loved ones whose cremated bodies had never been buried.
About 75 people gathered the morning of All Souls Day, Saturday, Nov. 2, at a committal service to be offered annually on or near All Souls Day by Calvary Catholic Cemetery & Mausoleum, 3880 “L” St., Lincoln at its “All Souls Memorial” crypt. Calvary does not charge families for this service.
“My mother would be so happy to be interred at the St. Charbel Chapel Mausoleum.” said a man who brought his mother’s cremains to the service. “She could not afford a mausoleum space, but dreamed of being laid to rest there.”
Many other family members also expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to bury their cremated loved ones on consecrated ground.
This was the first time Calvary Catholic Cemetery & Mausoleum has offered this service of committal for cremated bodies at no cost to the family, said Msgr. Timothy Thorburn, cemetery director.
“The idea for the event started with a conversation with staff of Catholic Cemeteries in Omaha,” he explained. “For various reasons, many families are in possession of cremated remains that have not been properly buried. We wanted to give them the opportunity to bury them in a dignified place on the consecrated grounds of Calvary Cemetery.”
Those present placed their loved ones’ cremation containers in a row on a table next to the mausoleum crypt. After the service, the containers were placed in the crypt space by maintenance manager, Brent Aden.
In the short service, Msgr. Thorburn blessed the remains and the crypt. Prayers were also offered for the souls of those whose remains had been brought, as well as for the consolation of their family members and friends who survived them.
The body or cremated remains of a person is considered sacred, Msgr. Thorburn said, because it was created in the image and likeness of God, consecrated in Baptism, and because Jesus, the Son of God Himself took a human body. The Church teaches that these sacred remains should be honorably buried, and never divided, scattered, used to make jewelry or other items, or in any other way treated with disrespect.
Some participants in the service said financial hardship or a difficult family situation led to the delay in burying their loved one’s cremated remains. After the passage of time, they were not sure what burial options still may be available to them. To accommodate families who had this need, Calvary Catholic Cemetery donated a mausoleum crypt for the containers holding the cremated remains.
The space has the generic title “All Souls Memorial” because it would not be possible to engrave all of the names of the deceased on the crypt. However, families who wish to provide a more personal memorial may purchase an engraved memorial brick with the name of the deceased. Those bricks will be placed in the area of the crypt.
After the service, Bishop Emeritus Fabian W. Bruskewitz celebrated the annual All Souls Day Mass in the St. Charbel Mausoleum Chapel.
