By Andrew Junker | May 21, 2009 | The Catholic Sun

Bishop Gerald N. Dino of the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Van Nuys will bless and dedicate a new section of Holy Redeemer Catholic Cemetery May 30 that will be set aside for the burial of Eastern Catholics.

The new section, known as Resurrection Garden, came about at the request of the five Eastern Catholic Churches located in Phoenix — the Byzantine, Chaldean, Maronite, Melkite and Ukrainian.

“It’s an effort by the whole Church for unity with the Roman and Eastern Catholics,” said Gary Brown, executive director of Catholic Cemeteries for the Diocese of Phoenix.

Brown didn’t know of any other Roman Catholic cemeteries in the country that have allocated a section specifically for Eastern Catholics.

Resurrection Garden will be able to hold 2,000 burials and cost around $200,000 to create. It will feature a granite and mosaic icon depicting Christ’s resurrection.

Fr. Stephen Washko, mitred archpriest of St. Stephen Byzantine Catholic Pro-Cathedral in Phoenix, said the Resurrection Garden will benefit his parish in many ways.

“In Catholic cemeteries, they sometimes designate sections for different parishes, back East that’s pretty popular,” Fr. Washko said, linking that practice to the new section. “Instead of getting lost in the crowd, now [the deceased] are with their own.”

The Byzantine Church celebrates five All Souls Saturdays throughout the year. On those days, the parish recites all the names of its deceased and blesses their graves.

“Now it will be very easy for us to do, because everyone will be together,” he said. “Our people have struggled and died and are still dying for their faith in Eastern Europe or the Middle East, and it’s good to be recognized as a church.”

There are 22 autonomous Eastern Catholic Churches that are in communion with Pope Benedict XVI, while maintaining their own liturgical rites and devotions. The Churches are often associated with a particular region of the world. For instance, many Lebanese Catholics belong to the Maronite Church. Many Iraqi Catholics are Chaldean.

Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted will be attending the blessing and dedication ceremony. He said the day offers a moment to celebrate the unity of Eastern and Roman Catholics.

“We rejoice to have opportunities such as this to work more closely together and to discover even more the rich heritage of each of our faith traditions,” the bishop said. “This initiative allows us to cooperate in a work of mercy, namely burying the dead, and to support one another in our ministry to the bereaved.”

The dedication of the section coincides with one of the All Souls Saturdays this year. Bishop Dino will celebrate a Panachida service, which includes a litany remembering the dead.

The ceremony is open to the public.