November 6, 2018
Catholic Church honors lost loved ones in “Gather Them Home” service
Twenty sets of cremains were blessed during a special Mass held Friday at St. Joseph Cemetery. After Robyn Hansen’s mother died in May, she couldn’t bring herself to scatter her ashes. Instead, the Monroe resident wanted a place she could come and visit and pray for her loved one. Laverne Fender was 72. On Friday, Fender’s ashes were among 20 …
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October 29, 2018
In this cemetery, after dark, students pray for the dead
Denver, Colo., (CNA).- An after-dark walk through a cemetery in late October seems like a night pulled straight from a Halloween movie or a scary novel. But when Colorado teens make nighttime visits to Mount Olivet Cemetery this week, it won’t be for ghost stories or a haunted house. Instead, they’ll learn about saints, pray together for the dead, and …
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August 14, 2018
Homeless Detroit man laid to rest, thanks to a friend
At a corner near Interstate 75 in downtown Detroit, an unlikely friendship developed six years ago between Tiffany Brocker, a mother of six children, and Gordon King, who was homeless. The two saw each other daily and developed a bond. What happened next was worthy of an O. Henry story: King disappeared. Brocker found out that he’d died. When his …
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February 22, 2018
Unclaimed by family, cremated remains of 300 found at shuttered funeral home laid to rest
FLINT TWP, MI – The muted winter sun peeked into the mausoleum as the teens arranged hundreds of black cardboard boxes at the head of the chapel. “You lift a box and it’s heavy, but then you realize there’s a kid in there and it kind of hits you,” said Sam Lechel, a senior at Flint Powers Catholic High School, …
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December 11, 2017
Saints, holy figures come back to life at first ‘Night in the Cemetery’
The week before Halloween, the dead rose from the graves at Mt. Olivet Cemetery. It was much less frightening than a scene from Night of the Living Dead, though. Among those who appeared were St. Therese of Lisieux, Freddie Joe Steinmark and Denver’s very own angel of charity Julia Greeley, all portrayed by actors and actresses. Youth from around the archdiocese …
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December 11, 2017
Dying alone: The story of Lansing’s unclaimed bodies
LANSING — James Buckmaster died alone. His body was found only after his elderly neighbor noticed he wasn’t picking up the sports section and fruit she regularly gifted the 63-year-old Lansing man. Buckmaster, dressed in pajama pants and a T-shirt, was found dead on his living room floor. That was Nov. 1, 2014. The date of the last sports section …
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December 11, 2017
Hundreds of bodies, long unclaimed by family, laid to rest in Lansing
LANSING — The cremated remains of more than 300 people — long unclaimed by family and friends — were finally laid to rest at a Lansing cemetery Monday. Bishop Earl Boyea, head of the Catholic Diocese of Lansing, officiated at the ceremony, flanked on either side by long tables bearing the white and black boxes containing the remains of each …
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December 11, 2017
The Diocese of Portland names John Fencik as director of cemeteries
The Diocese of Portland announced that John Fencik was named the new director of cemeteries. Most recently, Fencik was the director for Catholic Funeral and Cemetery Services for the Diocese of Spokane in Washington from 2014 to 2017. The Diocese of Portland currently owns and operates two diocesan cemeteries (St. Peter’s Cemetery in Lewiston and Calvary Cemetery in South Portland) …
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June 21, 2017
Strangers gather to ensure man who lived alone wouldn’t be buried that way
MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee County provides burial for anyone without family, or whose family can’t afford a burial. Now the first time the Milwaukee archdiocese is partnering with the county to donate those services.
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February 9, 2017
How we face death reveals our love for life
Gary Schaaf is the Executive Director for the Archdiocese Mortuary and Cemeteries. “Even the weakest and most vulnerable, the sick, the old, the unborn and the poor, are masterpieces of God’s creation, made in his own image, destined to live forever, and deserving of the utmost reverence and respect” – Pope Francis, Day for Life Greeting, July 17. …
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