Choosing a loved one’s final resting place can be a deeply emotional experience as you strive to do right by them and decide on a place that you hope will bring them peace. If your loved one was a follower of the Catholic faith, there are unique considerations to think about as the Church offers guidelines to followers on where to lay to rest those who have passed. Choosing a Catholic cemetery can help alleviate stress and put your mind at ease, knowing that your loved one is in a place that fulfills those guidelines and connects them to God.
What Makes a Catholic Cemetery Unique?
When a Catholic cemetery is built, a special process happens that turns the land into consecrated grounds. A bishop or his designee offers a blessing on the cemetery before sprinkling holy water all over the cemetery. Throughout the process of consecration, the bishop will continue to impart prayers asking God to keep the land clean from unholy spirits, to bring those buried there eternal life, and to comfort those who mourn their passing.
A Catholic cemetery also develops a distinctive look that helps Catholic followers feel surrounded by their faith. While burying your loved one in a Catholic cemetery is a gift to them, it’s also a gift to all those who come to visit their final resting place, as those visitors can revel in the warmth of knowing they are in a place that connects them to their community.
Catholic cemeteries become filled with symbols of the Catholic faith, like images of saints, angels, and the crucifix. All these symbols serve as a reminder that you stand upon sacred ground. The internal workings of the cemetery offer the same comfort, as the management of the cemetery is also guided by the Catholic faith. You can rest assured that your loved one will be respected and cared for in the way that the Catholic Church suggests.
Why Choose a Catholic Cemetery?
The Code of Canon Law offers many guidelines for Catholic followers about where to rest before the resurrection that the Catholic faith believes will come for all true followers of Christ on Judgement Day. While the code strongly suggests that followers be buried in a Catholic cemetery on consecrated grounds, they are not disallowed from choosing a secular cemetery instead.
But it’s worth noting that when a Catholic cemetery is consecrated, the blessing over the cemetery states that all those who were buried on these grounds and who are loyal followers of Christ will be rewarded with unending happiness in Heaven. The Code of Canon Law states that the gravesite must be “properly blessed” in a secular cemetery to consecrate that particular grave or resting place.
Whether your loved one chooses burial or cremation, the Church asks that all followers be laid to rest in a consecrated place. By choosing a Catholic cemetery, you remove the stress of worrying about whether you’re doing right by them. You’re selecting a cemetery that offers the promise of consecrated grounds, knowing that you’ve chosen a place that connects them to God.