Fourteen buildings stand as a protected space for the departed

By Cristina Cabrera Jarro -

Photography: CRISTINA CABRERA JARRO | FC

DORAL| Marta Garcia received a unique invitation in the mail. After 14 years of construction, the Resurrection Mausoleum Complex at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Cemetery in Doral was completed and set to be blessed by Archbishop Thomas Wenski on Nov. 14, 2025. Garcia and several families who had a loved one buried in the complex were invited to the event.

On the occasion, Garcia brought antique pink-colored flowers to place at her uncle Gabriel Oramas Hernandez’s tomb. She did not intend it, but the bouquet matched the spring-rose-colored Italian granite of the mausoleum.

“He did not have anyone here, so I dedicated myself to taking care of him and my aunt,” said Garcia, whose family immigrated from Cuba.

Though she knows visiting a cemetery can be difficult, she views it as a way to continue caring for her loved ones. Twelve of her relatives are buried at Our Lady of Mercy, and she visits often, bringing flowers, offering a warm greeting by placing her hand on their tombs, and praying. She also attends annual Masses celebrated for All Souls Day and Christmas at the cemetery’s chapels.

Garcia first came to Our Lady of Mercy when her mother died in 2002, guided by a cousin who helped the family navigate funeral arrangements. The compassion she experienced from the cemetery staff encouraged her to consider her own future and she purchased a burial plot.

“Everything about this cemetery is beautiful. This does not have a price,” Garcia said.

For over 60 years, Our Lady of Mercy Cemetery has served as the final resting place for thousands of people. Consecrated on May 25, 1959, by Archbishop Coleman Carroll, the more than 100-acre cemetery provides an ambience of serenity and beauty. Chapels console and illuminate with stained-glass windows, lush gardens and oak trees shelter lawn crypts, and mausoleums stand as pillars of hope.

The newly completed Resurrection Complex, whose first building was blessed in 2011 by Archbishop Wenski, now includes 14 buildings with over 9,500 crypt spaces in single, couch, and true companion (Tandem) form, as well as 3,250 cremation niches. More than 8,700 people have chosen it as their final resting place, with close to 1,900 already buried there.

The Resurrection Complex also has a compassionate care crypt. Here, families without immediate resources can place their loved one’s cremated remains while making monthly payments for permanent arrangements.

“Mausoleum buildings offer the members of our faith the opportunity to be entombed as Christ was, protected from the elements of nature with easy visitation access for family members. They are now the most common choice of families, and the reason for the creation of this beautiful complex,” said Mary Jo Frick, executive director of Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Miami.

On the outer buildings of the Resurrection Complex are four Italian-produced mosaics of the resurrected Christ commissioned by Conrad Pickel Studios in Vero Beach, Florida. Standing at 10.5 feet tall, the northern buildings’ mosaics depict scenes of Christ’s resurrection, and the three Marys meeting the angel at Christ’s empty tomb. The southern part of the complex contains the mosaics of Christ ascending into heaven, and Christ the King.

Part of the complex is also dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Seven bas-relief images of the Blessed Virgin, imported from the Biondan and Kosmolux workshops in Verona, Italy, are displayed on the eastern walls. They are dedicated to seven Marian titles: Mother of Our Savior, Queen of All Saints, Queen of Prophets, Queen of the Apostles, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, Queen of Virgins, and Queen of Angels.

At the center of the Resurrection Complex is a courtyard and garden with a gazebo and benches for visitors. Four granite statues of the Virgin Mary, depicted as Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady with the Child Jesus, Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, and Our Lady of Fatima, are also found here.

McCleskey Mausoleum Development designed, planned, and built the Resurrection Complex. Members of the firm, which have also worked on mausoleums and lawn crypts at Our Lady of Mercy Cemetery and at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Cemetery in North Lauderdale, attended Archbishop Wenski’s blessing of the completed project.

It took “two years of planning and zoning, building, and permits and drawings, and then one building a year for 14 years. It shows the planning and commitment of the archdiocese to the community,” said Bob DeBeltrand, president of McCleskey.

During the blessing of the Resurrection Complex, Archbishop Wenski reminded the faithful that the resurrection gives us hope to one day be reunited not only with our loved ones who have died, but with God.

“And God himself will wipe the tears from our faces,” he said, adding, “This cemetery and the beautiful grounds that surround us are witness to our faith in the resurrection of the dead. We hope the people who come here to visit, to pray at the tombs of their loved ones, will be strengthened to that faith and consoled in their loss.”