Each headstone in a Catholic graveyard is a type of signpost testifying to truths of the Faith, including one’s eternal destination. “Our faith has to be a living faith and so, therefore, if we believe everyone should be in a Catholic cemetery,
Father Patrick Carrion, a priest for more than 40 years, has headed the Office of Cemetery Management for the Archdiocese of Baltimore for the past 15 years. And he always knew he'd eventually be described as someone who has seen and heard
In recent years, a number of U.S. states have legalized a new way to process human corpses that some have called "dissolving the dead." Its technical name is "alkaline hydrolysis," but it is also known as biocremation, aquamation, green cremation and resomation.
(OSV News) — Two new alternatives to burial and cremation fail to comply with the Catholic Church’s teaching on respect for the bodies of the dead, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine said. In a March 23 statement, the
In what looks like a continuation of pontifical legacy, Pope Benedict XVI was buried in the crypt where his Polish predecessor, St. John Paul II, was first buried. St. John XXIII also was buried there prior to his beatification.
A triple coffin --
A reader asks: “I was wondering when the Sacrament of Marriage was instituted? I always assumed it was at the marriage feast in Cana?” In his latest column, Monsignor Charles Pope gives his answer: “The Sacrament of Holy Matrimony has its origin
In Iowa, Trappist monks manage the state’s second largest privately owned forest within their 1,800 acres. The land produces high-quality prized lumber, and the black walnut trees are considered some of the best. From that forest comes the business, Trappist Caskets, that
A reader asks: “Some priests use the prayer to St. Michael at the end of Mass after the blessing and dismissal and before the closing hymn. When did it become part of the Mass? It feels wrong to me.” In his latest
When archdiocesan Catholic Cemeteries director Peter Nobes first heard composting might emerge as an eco-friendly burial alternative, he thought it was a crazy idea.
The way the Jesus’ burial linens are described in John’s Gospel is key to understanding the Resurrection