Special Sections - Christian Hope

11/20/2008

I was just 8 years old when I first experienced the death of someone close to me. My maternal great-grandmother, Agnes Boennighausen, passed away in November of 1985 after suffering heart problems. Her death was my first memory of what it was like to go to a wake and funeral Mass and to lose someone whom I loved very much.

Great-Gram was a woman of strong German stock, who married and raised three children in St. Agatha Parish in South...

11/05/2008

Many funeral homes are using modern technology to provide new ways to serve their clients in making visitation and funeral arrangements.

Through Internet websites, deceased loved ones can be memorialized, and the information can be viewed by friends and relatives all over the globe. And while photo displays at wakes have been common for years, technology allows more advanced uses for pictures and other personal mementos.

At funer...

11/05/2008

Cemeteries administered by the Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of St. Louis reported 2,466 burials in those cemeteries during the fiscal year July 1, 2007, to June 30 2008.

CALVARY in North St. Louis, with 477 acres, is one of the oldest cemeteries, dating from 1854. It was the busiest cemetery, with 928 burials last year.

RESURRECTION in Affton, with 302 acres, was founded in 1929. It was the second busiest, with 852 buri...

11/05/2008

Training materials in Spanish and an expanded presence on the web are just two of the up-and-coming developments from the National Catholic Ministry to the Bereaved.

Founded in 1990, NCMB offers pastoral and spiritual support to the bereaved, caregivers, agencies, congregations, dioceses and others who work in bereavement ministry through education efforts and a bank of resources. Its headquarters are located at the Maria Center on the...

11/05/2008

The Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of St. Louis offers a grave-decoration removal service at all of its locations.

Decoration removals will take place on the second Wednesday and Thursday of the month from February through November. Removals will begin at 7:30 a.m. There will be no removal period in December or January to allow more time for holiday memorials to remain at grave sites.

Because of the West Nile Virus, silk...

11/05/2008

Our Catholic Cemeteries, especially Calvary Cemetery, have been a part of my life since I was a young boy. Among my early memories from those days are our regular family visits to Calvary, and to our family plots, where my maternal and paternal great-grandparents and grandparents rest.

In later years we have laid other family members to rest at Calvary as well. More recently my sister and brother and I brought my parents to their restin...