Diocese breaks new ground
EAST BRUNSWICK — As part of its mission to meet the spiritual needs of the faithful from cradle to grave, the diocese embarked on a historic construction project Jan. 17 when ground was broken for a crematory at Holy Cross Burial Park.
The crematory will be the first to be built by a diocese in the United States in a Catholic cemetery, said Deacon Russell B. Demkovitz, diocesan director, Office of Cemeteries.
Bishop Paul G. Bootkoski, Deacon Demkovitz and John Keenan, president of Mid-Atlantic Construction, participated in the groundbreaking.
Bishop Bootkoski, who also blessed the site, said it is time for the church to provide a full-service cemetery for families.
“The crematory that will be built in Holy Cross Burial Park will allow our families to inter their loved ones in a respectful and loving way,” the bishop said.
The diocese also owns the Resurrection Burial Park in Piscataway.
Consecrated ground
Before Bishop Bootkoski sprinkled the site of the crematory with holy water, he prayed: “The work we are beginning today should enliven our faith and make us grateful. We know the familiar words of the psalm: ‘If the Lord does not build the house, in vain do its builders labor.’ Whenever we look to the interests of our neighbor or the community and serve them, we are, in a sense, God’s own co-workers.
“Let us pray for his help through our actions here, my brothers and sisters, that God will bring this construction to successful completion and that his protection will keep those who work on it safe from injury.
“All-powerful and all-merciful Father, you have created all things through your son and have made him the unshakable foundation of your kingdom. Through the gift of your eternal wisdom, grant that the undertaking we begin today for your glory and our own well-being may progress day by day to its successful completion.
“We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.”
The 4,000-square-foot crematory is expected to be fully operational by the end of the year, Deacon Demkovitz said. It will be constructed at the back of the 186-acre diocesan burial park, and it will not be visible from South River/Cranbury Road.
Designed by architect Anthony J. Rissi, the exterior of the crematory resembles a funeral home. It will be landscaped with river birch, red maples and spirea shrubs. The interior of the structure will include a chapel, columbarium for urns, office and two retorts.
Mid-Atlantic Construction, New Gretna, will build the crematory. The retort portion of the project is being manufactured by B&L Cremation Systems, Largo, Fla.
Proper burials
While cremations have been permitted by the Catholic Church since 1963, it has only been in the last decade that more Catholics have begun requesting cremation, Deacon Demkovitz said. In 2004, 28 percent of all deceased in New Jersey were cremated, but that number is expected to rise to 35 percent by 2010. The number of deceased Catholics being cremated mirrors the increase, he said.
Cremation for a Catholic is only prohibited if the person choosing cremation is doing so to deny Christian teachings, especially that of the resurrection of the dead and the immortality of the soul.
The cremated remains of the body should be buried or entombed. The scattering of the cremated remains of the body, or the keeping of them at home, or the dividing of them among various family members is not the reverent disposition the church requires.
The remains must be treated with the same respect that the body was treated with prior to cremation, including the use of a “worthy vessel” or urn for the cremated remains of the body.
The church “strongly prefers” that cremation takes place after a funeral Mass where the body is present. If it is not possible for the body to be present at the funeral Mass, permission has been granted by the church to celebrate the liturgy with the cremated remains of the body present in church.
— Chris Donahue
*The attached/referenced article was originally published in The Catholic Spirit, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Metuchen, and is protected under U.S. and international copyright law