Bishop Deeley Presides over Cemetery Committal Service for Unclaimed Remains
In commemoration of All Souls’ Day, which the Catholic Church celebrated on November 2, and in recognition that every human person was created and is loved by God, Bishop Robert Deeley presided over the rite of final commendation and committal of unclaimed remains at Old Calvary Cemetery in South Portland on Monday, November 7.
“We gather to inter these remains of these people who have shared life with us on this earth, who walked among us, who loved and have been loved,” the bishop said. “So that they be at peace, we bury them. And we remind them and ourselves that each of us is cared for, each of us is loved, in life and in eternity.”
A group of diocesan and cemetery staff gathered around the All Souls Burial Plot in the cemetery for the commendation and committal service, during which the bishop blessed and sprinkled holy water on vessels holding the cremated remains of 19 people.
“With faith in Jesus Christ, we must reverently bury the remains of our brothers and sisters. Let us pray with confidence to God, in whose sight all creation lives, that he raise up in holiness and power the mortal bodies of our brothers and sisters and commend their souls to be numbered among the blessed. May God grant them a merciful judgment, deliverance from death, and pardon of sin. May Christ the Good Shepherd carry them home to be at peace with the Father. May they rejoice forever in the presence of the eternal King and in the company of all the saints,” the bishop prayed.
To ensure that everyone receives a proper burial, Maine Catholic Cemeteries offers the committal of cremated remains in either the All Souls Burial Plot at Old Calvary Cemetery or the All Souls Remembrance Crypt in the St. Louis Mausoleum at St. Peter Cemetery in Lewiston. The free service is offered to ensure that remains aren’t scattered, forgotten in someone’s home, or left unclaimed at a funeral home. The cremated remains interred at Old Calvary Cemetery on November 7 came from area funeral homes.
“The Catholic Church teaches that cremated remains should be given the same respect as a body. Maine Catholic Cemeteries wants to ensure the dignity of those Catholics who have been left behind,” Jessica Letendre, director of Maine Catholic Cemeteries, said.
Letendre said being buried in a Catholic cemetery gives witness to our belief in the Resurrection and the promise of eternal life. A marker on the site of the burial plot includes a quote from Philippians 3:20, which reads "Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it, we also await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ."
Burying the dead is one of the corporal works of mercy, and praying for the living and the dead is a spiritual work of mercy.
“Into your hands, Father of mercies, we commend our brothers and sisters in the sure and certain hope that, together with all who have died in Christ, they will rise up with him on the last day,” the bishop prayed. “May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.”
