Catholic Cemeteries opens first full-service mortuary
First diocesan-owned funeral home provides full Catholic burial services

By Rebecca Bostic, The Catholic Sun
July 5, 2007

MESA — While some see death as an ending, the Catholic Church sees the death of a person as the first step into eternal life and toward the eventual resurrection of the body.

With the opening of Queen of Heaven Mortuary July 9, Catholic Cemeteries of the Diocese of Phoenix continues to spread the good news of eternal life.

Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted blessed the $3 million building — the first diocesan-owned funeral home in Arizona — in a private ceremony June 9.

“It will provide us the opportunity to serve more completely those families who have graves at Queen of Heaven Cemetery,” the bishop said. “In doing that we are able to bear witness to the key truth of our Catholic faith — the resurrection of Christ and its corollary truth, the resurrection of the body.”

Phoenix is the third diocese in the country to own and operate a cemetery-based funeral home, and the fourth to have one.

Bishop Olmsted blessed the interior and exterior of the 10,000-square-foot building on the corner of Baseline Road and Harris Drive.

“I was impressed with the beauty of the new mortuary, especially all the works of art that speak eloquently of our faith,” the bishop said.

He noted a wood carving of Jesus and Mary caring for Joseph on his deathbed and the stained glass window of the Queen of Heaven that adorns the main wall of the chapel.

A ‘sacred process’

Planning for the mortuary began more than 10 years ago as part of a long-range plan for Catholic Cemeteries of the Diocese of Phoenix.

Gary Brown, executive director of Catholic Cemeteries, was part of the planning process.

“Burying the dead has been a responsibility that dates back to our Judeo history and was emphasized at the time of Christ’s death,” he said.

“Scripture tells us that at the time of Jesus’ death, Joseph of Arimathea took his body, dressed it and placed it in a tomb he had acquired for his own burial,” Brown added. “I am honored that our Catholic cemetery and mortuary will be able to provide a similar sacred process for our families.”

Prior to the opening of a Catholic mortuary, families of a Catholic deceased person would go to an independent mortuary that held and prepared the body before burial in a Catholic cemetery.

In recent years some mortuaries have added cemeteries to their services, offering it as burial place instead of sending Catholic deceased to a Catholic cemetery.

It is important for Catholics to be buried in a Catholic cemetery because “it’s a depository for bodies for the eventual resurrection,” Brown said.

“As the mortuaries in the community changed to be more of a conglomerate that owns their own cemeteries and their own mortuaries, there was a less likelihood of a lot of the mortuaries to follow the traditions of our faith and refer people” to a Catholic cemetery, he said.

Brown believes the mortuary will be a great tool to educate families about Catholic burial beliefs. A commonly misunderstood belief concerns cremation.

Some mortuaries assist families in separating or spreading the ashes of the deceased, which is not in line with the Church teaching that the cremated remains should be wholly deposited in an eternal resting site.

“We don’t believe in scattering ashes and we would do nothing to encourage the scattering of ashes. We would do everything to encourage the burial of the ashes, whether it’s in our cemetery or another cemetery,” Brown said.

“The ashes are considered sacred and so we’d always emphasize the sacredness of the body that served as a temple of Christ,” he added.

Evangelizing role

Peppered with religious artwork and prayerful images, Queen of Peace Mortuary was designed to remind people of their Catholic faith.

“In this day and age there are many fallen-away Catholics. What we hope to afford those individuals is the knowledge that they’re dealing with a Catholic funeral home that is very much interested in their spirituality,” said Harry Antram, director of funeral services at Queen of Heaven Mortuary.

“When a death occurs, oftentimes many people start to doubt their faith and I think those are instances where we’ll be able to evangelize and hopefully help heal wounds,” he said.

Queen of Heaven Mortuary has visitation rooms for viewings, an area that can be used for a reception following a burial and a chapel that will be used primarily for rosary services, but never for a funeral Mass.

The primary reason for not offering Masses in the chapel at Queen of Heaven Mortuary is “because we believe that a person’s parish life plays a very important role in their whole life as a Catholic and we in no way want to take that away from parishes,” Antram said.

Parishes then are able to minister to families on a more personal level, according to Antram. If a family does not currently belong to a parish the mortuary staff will assist the family of the deceased in finding a parish with which they are comfortable.

The mortuary will serve anyone living anywhere and of any denomination, as long as he or she is willing to follow Catholic tradition throughout the preparation and burial process.

Although Antram anticipates the majority of people the mortuary serves will be from the East Valley, they are willing to serve the entire diocese.

“We will also serve anybody regardless of their financial means,” Antram said. “The bottom line is that we will not turn any family away.”

“In every faith, death, the process of death and dying is an important factor in life and in our faith it’s paramount because we know there’s a resurrection with Christ,” Brown said. “Being a part of that finality and giving that spiritual identity is where I see Catholic Cemeteries’ role in the Church.