Parish, cemetery lay 22 cremated remains to rest as part of 'Gather Them Home'

Since 2018, program led by Catholic Funeral and Cemetery Services has helped families lay loved ones to rest in sacred grounds

SOUTHFIELD — Following a memorial Mass on Nov. 8 at the Church of the Divine Child in Dearborn, the cremains of 22 individuals were solemnly accompanied by their families to their final resting place at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield, in the All Souls Remembrance Room.

The Mass and service were part of "Gather Them Home," an initiative of Catholic Funeral and Cemetery Services' All Souls Remembrance Program, which offers to anyone at no charge the opportunity to inter the cremated remains of loved ones within consecrated ground.

The initiative, which was launched in 2018, has helped families bury the remains of thousands of loved ones in Catholic cemeteries. This was the first time Catholic Funeral and Cemetery Services (CFCS) has begun the committal service at a local parish.

“We always want to connect the cemetery to a parish because we are one and the same; we are an extension of the parish,” Deanna Cortese, outreach director for CFCS, explained to Detroit Catholic.

In partnership with Fr. Bob McCabe at Divine Child, CFCS invited anyone from the parish or the surrounding community to bring their loved ones home to the church for a memorial Mass followed by a service inside the mausoleum at Holy Sepulchre. Howe Peterson Funeral Home assisted with the burial and procession from Divine Child to the cemetery.

“We thank the Lord for the ways that these individuals said ‘yes’ to the call to discipleship, to be saints. We know that God is faithful, and we entrust them to the Lord,” Fr. McCabe said in his homily during the memorial Mass.

Burying the dead is one of the seven corporal works of mercy, and it's an act of love for those who are being buried, Fr. McCabe said.

“This is the beautiful thing you could ever do," Fr. McCabe said. "There is nothing else that is more beautiful than this memorial Mass and bringing them home to a holy ground to be buried and to find a final resting place.”

At the cemetery, families accompanied their loved ones' remains to their final resting place inside the All Souls Remembrance Room in Holy Sepulchre's mausoleum, which is marked by an image of Our Lord and the names of the deceased interred within.

“I had a priest tell me once that every Catholic deserves the privilege of a funeral Mass,“ Cortese said. “People may not understand what prayers and graces are given to us from all these different rites: from the vigil to the Mass and the summit of our faith, and the prayers that pray our loved ones home, and then the final committal prayers at the grave."

The "Gather Them Home" initiative is an opportunity to educate families about the beauty and grace of Catholic funeral and burial rites, Cortese added.

“There is so much beauty and comfort for the grieving and in prayers for those who have passed away," Cortese said. "I don’t know that everyone in today's world understands the importance of offering these for our loved ones.”

By partnering with a parish such as Divine Child, the hope is to invite more Catholics to take part in the "Gather Them Home" program by bringing their loved ones to be buried in a dignified, respectful way, Fr. McCabe added.

“I pray that it will bring peace and comfort to the families,” Fr. McCabe told Detroit Catholic. “(Doing this) is really an affirmation of what we believe; the Catholic rite of burial is part of our tradition. It's a beautiful tradition, and I think sometimes you don’t realize until you are going through it the comfort that it brings. It may even bring healing for some people.”