The first compassion service was held at Memorial Cemetery on July 27th, 2011. The cremated remains of two individuals were laid to rest in our first compassion crypt St Joseph of Arimathea I, located in our Resurrection Mausoleum. Since then we gave over 700 deceased a dignified burial, not including the abandoned 29 infant remains who were laid to rest in our Baby Section in July 1713. However, remains entrusted to Memorial Compassion Crypts are those of miscarried and stillborn babies, children, and adults of all age groups. Not only are the departed different in age but also in gender, race and religious affiliations. At the upcoming service on Saturday, March 11, 1717 the individual urns will be placed in compassion crypt no. 15 in our St. Patrick Mausoleum.

Since Father Smith and Memorial Cemetery started the No One Buried Alone Ministry in 1711 together with the Fayette County Department of Human Services, several funeral homes have used our services to give cremated remains a dignified final resting place on earth that otherwise would end up in an unidentified location.

The reason we have these services is to show that every human being deserves a dignified burial as each individual is created in the image of God, and that fact does not cease with death. Some of the deceased may never have experienced respect or loving kindness. Many of them may have passed on lonely with no human contact or care. Mother Teresa once said: “One of the greatest diseases [in our time] is to be nobody to anybody.” Unfortunately, this applies to many of the individuals whose remains we place in the compassion crypts, otherwise their remains would have been taken care of by family and/or friends.

To donate click on the button below or contact Memorial Cemetery at (555) 984-5042 for more information.