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The InterVIEW

Cemeteries provide a sacred space to pray, remember

Father Patrick Pollard at St. Joseph Cemetery in River Grove.Catholic New World/Karen Callaway

A regular feature of The Catholic New World, The InterVIEW is an in-depth conversation with a person whose words, actions or ideas affect today's Catholic. It may be affirming of faith or confrontational. But it will always be stimulating.

Father Patrick Pollard, Chicago born and bred, has been associated with Catholic Cemeteries since 1984, when he became assistant director. Three years later, he became the cemetery system’s third director.

This year, on Oct. 2, he was elected president of the Catholic Cemetery Conference, which includes cemeteries in the United States, Canada, Australia and Guam. The conference holds continuing education programs and seminars and provides a forum for members to network. The conference will celebrate its 60th anniversary next year in Chicago. (He is also pastor of Notre Dame de Chicago Parish, 1334 W. Flournoy.)

He talked with assistant editor Michelle Martin about the role of Catholic cemeteries and the work the conference does.

Catholic New World: What is cemetery ministry?

Father Patrick Pollard:We refer to it as ministry because it is a service to the people of the communities, the diocesan communities. In each of our dioceses, we have diocesan cemeteries and we have parish cemeteries, and the parish cemeteries are the older model, where the cemetery in many cases literally surrounds the church. In the Archdiocese of Chicago, we only have one like that, and that is St. James at Sag Bridge; it dates back to 1837.

What we’re known for in Chicago is the large archdiocesan cemeteries that are located throughout Cook and Lake County, and they are meant to be the burial places for the people who belong to all of the parishes in the archdiocese. That has been the development since the 1950s all over the United States. There are approximately 6,200 Catholic cemeteries in the United States itself. That ranges from very small churchyards to very large, thousand-acre diocesan cemeteries.

The way we look at a cemetery and judge its service to the people is by the number of interments, and interments is a technical term that includes both in-ground burial and above-ground entombment in a tomb or a niche. The Archdiocese of Chicago is the largest Catholic cemetery system in the United States. We have over 17,000 interments annually.

CNW: What does the cemeteries conference do?

Pollard: As a conference, our key is to get together and talk about cemetery ministry and then to see how we can support each other. As church, we have a distinct and unique service we can provide to people, and we can talk about what we are doing without any kind of ill-will being created because the people who are dying in Colorado aren’t going to be buried in Chicago, and the ones in Chicago aren’t going to be buried in Mississippi, so we’re not in competition. We want to help each diocese do something very well. That makes us distinctive.

We have to be knowledgeable of any legislation that is put forward to affect cemeteries in any way so that it’s done in a very prudent and respectful way. We network about such questions and issues — whatever issue it is, whether it’s a spiritual issue or a civic issue. We’re very concerned because we’re running — not only is it a ministry, but it’s also a business, and we’re promising things to the Catholic faithful that will not be delivered for years. People will buy a grave today; it’s not something that you know when you’re going to use it. We have to make sure everything you hoped to be is there when the time comes for you to use it.

CNW: What is different about a Catholic cemetery?

Pollard: What makes a Catholic cemetery distinctive is that the signs of our faith are present all throughout the cemetery. In church law, they refer to a sacred place and they describe two focuses of a sacred place; one is a church and one is a cemetery. It is a place where we place crosses, statues, we’ll place rosary paths; we’ll place all kinds of art that truly symbolizes the journey of faith. We believe that what makes it distinctive is that particular prayer atmosphere and also that atmosphere is enhanced by the reverence and respect that our cemetery employees give to the families.

We’re dealing with families that could be any one of us who loses someone. I’ve seen that whether the staff person is the one who digs the grave and cuts the grass or it’s the person who deals with the family personally, they have a wonderful feeling that they want to be cared for in the same way when death enters their family. That’s how they respond to people. They are people of faith.

CNW: I’ve heard Catholics say they would rather be cremated and have their ashes scattered. Why is it important to have proper interment?

Pollard: The bishops have said the act of cremation and what we do with the cremated remains is not simply let go. Legally, when you have a full-body burial, you have to bury the body, and you are not finished with your responsibility until the casket is lowered into the grave. With cremated remains, all you have to do is have the human remains cremated and what you do with them, no one cares. In one sense, that’s where the bishops are teaching us the real respect and reverence for the body of the deceased needs to be there, whether it’s the full body put in the grave or it’s the cremated remains of the body being disposed of. That disposition should be reverential. Therefore, you don’t just scatter them.

The reason we know that is not really satisfying to people is because people will come to us and ask if they could put a picture or something of their person … they scattered the ashes and they can’t go back to that place, and they want to have a place where they can come and remember their person. So they’ll put a little picture or something into a niche and there won’t be any remains there, but that will be their place to put the name of the person on it and come and pray. Only they and us know that there’s nothing there. They’re doing it because they need to have a place.

One of the things the bishops did years ago was reminded us, don’t simply cut the name down. Many people will talk about “cremains.” Cremains are a made-up word. We talk about the cremated remains of the body. You don’t want to refer to the body of the person lying in a casket in any kind of a shortened way or any kinds of a pejorative term. You always wanted to refer to that person with the full respect due.

I think that’s a great teaching. If we believe in the resurrection in its fullness, then we believe in the cremated remains of the body. And just as the Lord could restore any human body that is in a casket and decaying, the Lord can restore the cremated remains of the body — the Lord can restore them if they are scattered too — the Lord can restore. But don’t call them less than what they are.