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The chapel of the Calvary Shrine Mausoleum was dedicated in 1960 by Cardinal Joseph Ritter. It has been in daily use since that time. It is the primary site for chapel committal services for families who choose this option rather than a committal at graveside. It is also the site for the public Mass, offered at 9 o’clock in the morning, on the Second Saturday of each month, for all who are buried in our Catholic Cemeteries.

Recently the chapel has undergone a long deferred renovation. Water damaged plaster ceilings in the sanctuary of the chapel have been restored. Lighting has been improved. A fabric panel reredos behind the altar has been replaced with panels of cultured marble forming the background for the original hand carved wood crucifix. The cultured marble matches that of the original trim work throughout the chapel. Deteriorated wood panels in the sanctuary have also been clad with this cultured marble. The paneled walls of the chapel nave were refinished and new carpeting installed. The lighting of the nave has also been improved.

The newly renovated and restored chapel was used for the first time, on August 9, 2008, at the Second Saturday Public Mass. The response to the renovation from those who regularly participate in this Mass was very positive.

ECHOING THE HOPE

In April the leadership team of Catholic Cemeteries initiated series of site visits to each of the seventeen Archdiocesan Cemeteries. The purpose has been to evaluate the strengths of each, as well as to identify areas in need of immediate improvement. Long term planning for the future is also part of each visit. These site visits will be ongoing and at regular intervals. It is our plan to consider initiatives which not only maintain, but which also will enhance the cemeteries.

The Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Saint Louis are committed to preserving the sacred character of the grounds and facilities of each of our seventeen cemeteries. We want them to be places which echo the hope we profess each Sunday in the Creed that: “we believe in the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.”

Ascension Cemetery and Mausoleum Dedication

On Sunday, May 20, 2007 Archbishop Raymond L. Burke celebrated the solemn dedication of the recently completed Ascension Cemetery and Mausoleum in Washington, Missouri. The dedication took place in the context of a celebration of the Liturgy of the Word and blessing of a life-sized cross set in the ground before the mausoleum, then the blessing of the grounds of the cemetery, and finally of the mausoleum with its chapel. The ceremony reflects on our mortality, and on the hope of the resurrection that is ours in Jesus Christ. It is especially timely, then, that the dedication took place on the Seventh Sunday of Easter.

Ascension is the seventeenth of our Archdiocesan Catholic Cemeteries. It provides opportunities for ground burial, mausoleum entombment and niches for cremated remains. We are pleased to be able to serve more effectively the people of the Washington Deanery.

Native American Monument

There is a new Native American Monument at Calvary Cemetery as of the summer of 2003. One of the inscriptions reads: "We Nimiipuu honor these men who gave their lives for all of us. We respect the 15,000 people who share this site with them."

Follow the link below for photos and additional inscriptions.

Click here to view photos in the Calvary Cemetery pages.

Slide Show goes LIVE (November 1, 2002)

The latest addition to www.stlcathcem.com is the SlideShow.

Click the 'Slide Show' button to the left to enter the page. Simply change the drop down list of cemeteries to view photos from that cemetery.

Also included is a choice of image sizes. Select 'small' or 'medium' and the images adjust.

Click here to enter the Slide Show...

St. Louis Review article by Jennifer Brinker (August 9, 2002)

The Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of St. Louis also recently launched a Web site earlier this summer at www.stlcathcem.com . The recent addition of the burial records search has increased traffic to the site.

Click here to read the story...

More pictures throughout the site...

We have added many more pictures throughout the the site. Follow these links to just a few of the pages where more pictures have been added. Under Historical and Locations, be sure to click on the individual cemeteries to see additional pictures for that cemetery.

Additional photos have been added to the Photo Gallery as well.
- Locations [then click on each cemetery]
- Historical [then click on each cemetery]
- Photo Gallery

Use our search engine on your site (August 26, 2002)

We are experimenting with Web Services to allow third party sites to license our search engine and database. We are in the research phase of this project, and would like some input from any organizations that would be interested in subscribing to such a service. Please drop us a note, and describe your ideal service. This type of service would be appropriate for genealogical web sites who need to locate records of burials within the 17 Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

We are not sure how this service will be licensed. We are thinking about using a flat monthly fee to grant a fixed number of searches per month. If you have questions, or would like to submit comments, please contact David Wasylenko at CathCem1@PickPro.com.

Soundex search capability added (August 23, 2002)

We are pleased to announce that you can now perform searches on our database without worrying about spelling variances. By using our new Soundex option under type, special algorithms are performed to match the name you entered against other spelling variations.

Click here to search now!

Professional thieves target two local cemeteries (August 12, 2002)

[...] Calvary and Bellefontaine cemeteries were hit at about the same time. Among the thefts were reportedly century old Tiffany stained glass from Bellefontaine -- considered priceless -- and the heavy bronze doors. In most of these cases, Calvary cemetery was not able to find living family members to notify.

Read more about it...

Our new server is installed! (July 29th, 2002)

The new server has been installed, and is running very well. The server was very well tested when Fox 2 ran a story on August 1st. We had a 10-fold increase in activity the next day. The new server is handing the load quite well, and reliability has been much improved. We are on-pace to serve over 125,000 pages in August.

New site Under Construction (July 1st, 2002)

We have decided to display the entire site during this time so that we may test portions of the site.

If you see a misspelling or incorrect information, please email: CathCem1@pickpro.com or you can fill out the form on the site located under "Contact Us." Some features may not be working or may give unexpected results; there is no need to contact us regarding these items.

Thank you for your patience and help in making this a great site!

~ Thank you.

Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of St. Louis launches NEW website (June 24th, 2002)

The Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of St. Louis announces its newest addition to its many services. Now the World Wide Web is being used to disseminate information about the cemeteries that fall under the control of the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

Additional features will be added later, but those available at the moment are (but are not limited to) photo galleries, cemetery history, burial plans/services, maps, etc...