Helpful Terms for Families

Burial usually refers to placing a person’s body or cremated remains in the ground. Entombment refers to placing a person’s body in a crypt within a mausoleum.

Interment is the placement of a deceased person’s remains in their final resting place. Inurnment specifically refers to placing cremated remains in an urn and then placing the urn in a niche, grave, or other approved sacred location.

A crypt is a space within a mausoleum designed for casketed entombment. A niche is a smaller space designed for the placement of an urn containing cremated remains.

A monument is an upright memorial, often made of granite, that identifies and honors the person buried there. A marker is usually a flat or low memorial, often made of bronze or granite, placed on the grave.

A grave is the specific in-ground space where a person is buried. A lot may refer to one or more grave spaces owned or reserved by an individual or family.

Preplanning means making cemetery or funeral arrangements in advance, before they are needed. Immediate need arrangements are made at the time of death or shortly after, when a family must make decisions more urgently.

A Catholic cemetery is consecrated ground and is maintained as a sacred place of prayer, remembrance, and Christian hope. A public cemetery may serve the wider community but is not necessarily rooted in Catholic teaching, tradition, and sacred burial practices.

Cremation is permitted by the Catholic Church when chosen for reasons consistent with Christian teaching and when the cremated remains are treated with dignity, reverence, and respect for the human body as a temple of the Holy Spirit. The church teaches that cremated remains should be buried, entombed, or inurned in a sacred, permanent place, such as a Catholic cemetery, mausoleum, or columbarium.

Yes. Catholics may choose cremation, as long as the choice reflects belief in the resurrection of the body and the cremated remains are placed reverently in a Catholic cemetery, mausoleum crypt, mausoleum niche, columbarium, or other approved sacred place.

Cremated remains may be placed in a cemetery grave, mausoleum crypt, mausoleum niche, columbarium, or another approved sacred location within a Catholic cemetery. The Church teaches that cremated remains should not be scattered, divided among family members, or kept permanently at home.

A Catholic cemetery is more than a place of burial. It is sacred ground where loved ones are remembered in prayer, where families can visit with peace, and where final arrangements reflect faith in the promise of the resurrection.

Consecrated ground is land that has been blessed and dedicated to God for a sacred purpose. In a Catholic cemetery, consecrated ground provides a holy place of rest for the faithful departed.

Perpetual care refers to the ongoing maintenance and care of cemetery grounds, roads, common areas, and sacred spaces so that the cemetery remains beautiful, dignified, and well cared for over time.

A Family Service Advisor is a caring professional who helps families understand their cemetery options, answer questions, and make arrangements for burial, entombment, cremation placement, memorialization, or preplanning.

The Rite of Committal is the final prayer service of the Catholic Funeral Rites. It usually takes place at the cemetery, mausoleum, or place of final rest, where the Church entrusts the deceased to God’s care.

A columbarium is a structure with niches designed for the reverent placement of urns containing cremated remains. It provides a permanent and sacred place for families to visit and pray.

A private family mausoleum is a dedicated above ground place of entombment created for one family. It offers a lasting family memorial and a private, sacred place for prayer and remembrance.