New mausoleum dedicated at Our Lady of Mercy

By Marlene Quaroni - Florida Catholic

Photography: MARLENE QUARONI | FC

DORAL | Anticipating the future, Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Cemetery has added a three-story mausoleum on its site in western Doral.

“The loved ones of more than 21,000 families will be entrusted to us in this new mausoleum,” said Mary Jo Frick, executive director of Catholic Cemeteries, after an Aug. 29 blessing and dedication Mass for the new Ascension Mausoleum.

The cemetery, originally named Campo Santo, opened in 1958 on the western fringe of central Miami-Dade County. It was dedicated and renamed Our Lady of Mercy in 1959. Construction on a chapel and mausoleum began in 1962. In later years, garden mausoleums were added near the cemetery entrance to accommodate Miami’s growing population.

“Seventy percent of the cemetery’s 120 acres are already developed,” said Frick.  “Eventually, we will run out of space. That’s the reason that we are building these larger mausoleums. Ascension Mausoleum is the first of three large mausoleum buildings to be built at Our Lady of Mercy.”

Archdiocesan officials broke ground for Ascension Mausoleum in May 2012. The 33,400 square-foot building rises 75 feet to the top of the skylights and is equipped with elevators as well as stairs to take visitors to upper floors. It contains 12,594 crypts and 5,860 niches for cremated remains, said Frick.

“Most of the spaces in Ascension Mausoleum are already sold, pre-need,” she said. “More and more people are choosing mausoleums as their final resting place.”

Frick thanked Archbishop Emeritus John C. Favalora for his faith in the conceptualization of the mausoleum project. Her list of those who helped in the project also included the City of Doral Planning and Zoning Department, Catholic Health Services’ Board of Directors, and the clergy, contractors and craftsman who helped make the mausoleum a reality.

“This mausoleum and indeed this cemetery of Our Lady of Mercy exists as a ‘work of mercy’ to assist our faithful in their grieving for their loved ones,” said Archbishop Thomas Wenski, the main celebrant of the Mass.

He also consecrated the altar and blessed the new mausoleum.

The archdiocese operates another cemetery, Our Lady Queen of Heaven, in North Lauderdale. It also opened in 1958 and was consecrated in 1959. The land for both was purchased in 1955 by Archbishop Joseph P. Hurley of St. Augustine, the diocese which at that time encompassed the whole state.