By Mary Jo Frick CCCE - Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Miami
Photographer: COURTESY PHOTO
The first bronze statue at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Cemetery, Christ Ascending to the Father, is located in the new Resurrection Mausoleum complex.
Photographer: COURTESY PHOTO
Father Israel Mago, pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe, blesses the new stained-glass window in the Consolation Chapel at Our Lady of Mercy Cemetery in Doral.
MIAMI | Most Catholics know that November is the month of All Souls, when we remember in a special way all who have died and pray for those in purgatory. But the first Sunday of November each year is also Catholic Cemetery Sunday, celebrated by Catholic cemeteries throughout the U.S.
In the Archdiocese of Miami, over 1,700 families were invited this year to attend the All Souls Day Masses. The following Sunday was set aside for families to come and experience the beauty of the two archdiocesan cemeteries, Our Lady of Mercy in Doral and Our Lady Queen of Heaven in North Lauderdale.
The cemeteries are sacred enclosures for the repose of the souls of the faithful departed and the only place in the archdiocese where Mass may be celebrated outside of sacred parish grounds.
At Our Lady of Mercy, this year was especially memorable as a new stained-glass window was blessed. It is dedicated to Our Lady of Consolation and located in the Consolation Chapel.
Father Israel Mago, pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe, assisted by seminarian Ryan Saunders and Deacon Joe Naranjo, cemetery chaplain, blessed the window in a beautiful ceremony attended by the Family Service staff of the cemetery and many family members who were on the grounds to visit their loved ones. The window was created by Pickel Studios in Vero Beach.
Following the blessing, the staff and those families in attendance prayed the rosary for all those buried this past year.
At Our Lady Queen of Heaven, Cemetery Sunday began with a very special Requiem Mass for the families of the St. Paul Chung Ha Sang Korean Mission. This has become an annual tradition for their faith community.
All families who visited were able to meet with Family Service Counselors to tour the Chapel Mausoleum and the new Resurrection Mausoleum complex, where the first bronze statue in the cemetery, Christ Ascending to the Father, was installed.
The expression of Christ in this statue represents the Gospel of John 14:1�6:
“Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where I am going you know the way.’ Thomas said to him, ‘Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”
Families also had the opportunity to see the plans for the final expansion of the Chapel Mausoleum, which will include 4,928 crypt spaces and 1,972 cremation niches. The Chapel Mausoleum is regarded as the most beautiful building of its kind in Broward County.
To close the activities, Deacon Thomas Dawson and the Family Service staff prayed the rosary for all those buried this past year.
