One option for burial is at a parish-owned cemetery such as St. Vincent de Paul Cemetery in Brooklyn Park (shown). DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
After a loved one passes away, there are many decisions to be made by the family, including the most everlasting: the burial location.
Catholic cemeteries throughout the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis offer options for traditional ground, above-ground and cremation burial.
“The Catholic Church has identified burying the dead with dignity as a corporal work of mercy,” said Mark Dittman, 53, parish business administrator at St. John the Baptist in New Brighton, who oversees St. John the Baptist Cemetery. “This cemetery ministry is a way to honor someone and their survivors.”
The first burial at St. John the Baptist was in 1909. Dittman said that of the 4,207 burial spaces — full body lots, cremation lots, columbarium (a place with niches for cremation urns) and infant lots — 500 are available.
“We built a columbarium plaza in 2017 to help meet the growth of cremation, and planned that for future expansion,” Dittman said. “Our cemetery is relatively small — half a city block — and we want to continue to serve the needs of our people as far into the future as possible.”
Columbarium fees per niche at St. John the Baptist Cemetery begin at $2,200; cremation lots are $700, full-size lots are $1,000, and there are no fees for lots for children age 2 and under. Additional cemetery costs include grave opening and closing, markers, engraving and vases.
“People are purchasing a right to burial in a specific location — a promise of perpetual care for that space and that cemetery,” Dittman said. “When operating a cemetery, we must always think long-term with pricing, improvements and maintenance which include mowing, tree planting/trimming/removal, landscaping, city water fees, plowing, fence upkeep and, if there is a building on-site, its upkeep.”
“In cases of financial hardship, we work with the family to accommodate their needs as best we can,” Dittman said. “Our gravesites are for sale at need or pre-need.”
Burial fees are just part of the overall costs after a loved one dies; there’s also embalming or cremation, the use of facilities for a visitation and a funeral, transportation and more.
“I strongly encourage families to visit a couple of funeral homes and pre-plan their funeral with one of their choice,” said Denny Farrell, 76, parish administrator at Guardian Angels in Oakdale who sells burial space in the parish cemetery.
The earliest burial documented at Guardian Angels dates back to 1871. Today the cemetery averages 35 to 40 burials a year, with 320 total spaces available: 170 in-ground plots, 90 single niches and 60 double niches. Reserved areas on the property can accommodate an additional 400 plots and 800 niches. Prices range from $450 for a cremation lot burial to $3,700 for a top row columbarium double niche.
The Catholic Cemeteries is a corporation managing five cemeteries: Calvary in St. Paul, St. Anthony of Padua in northeast Minneapolis, St. Mary in south Minneapolis, Gethsemane in New Hope, and Resurrection in Mendota Heights, the largest Catholic cemetery in the archdiocese.
“We offer a resting place that will hold and care for the deceased forever in holy ground,” said Joan Gecik, 66, executive director.
The organization also provides consultation support to the 124 parish-owned cemeteries in the archdiocese, offering education as well as assistance with navigating Minnesota rules.
“Because of population growth and escalating land values, it became impractical for every parish to have its own churchyard cemetery,” Gecik said. “Calvary, established in 1856, became the official cemetery for St. Paul parishes; St. Anthony of Padua, established in 1857, became the official cemetery for the northern part of Minneapolis, and St. Mary’s, established in 1873, for south Minneapolis.”
Family counselors at The Catholic Cemeteries “pastorally walk with a family at the time of death and assist them with the number of decisions that must be made,” Gecik said. “We work in conjunction with the funeral home they have chosen and their church.”
Patricia Marcon, 55, a family counselor at The Catholic Cemeteries, said the organization offers a variety of interment options.
“Depending on what type of burial space and how many family members you are planning for, we offer a lot of choices at many different price ranges that will fit into most families’ budget,” she said.
Space is available at all five cemeteries. For traditional ground burials at The Catholic Cemeteries, full-body grave prices begin at $1,590 and cremated body grave prices start at $950. Above-ground mausoleum options for full-body interment begins at $5,375.
The Catholic Cemeteries’ additional options for cremation burial include mausoleum niches and columbaria, beginning at $2,140, and the Garden Abbey at $1,490.
Other fees in addition to the purchase of the final resting place include opening and closing fees, monument or marker, final dates, recording fees and vases. Interment costs are $1,540 for either a traditional, full body or cremated body.
“Pre-planning for burial alleviates a family from making a lot of tough decisions at what is most likely the worst time of their life, as well as the financial burdens that arise when a loved one dies,” Marcon said. “We offer many pre-planning discounts throughout the year and also offer 0% financing on burial spaces.”
At all Catholic cemeteries, assisting families with a final resting place for their loved ones is a true ministry, Gecik said. “We offer all a place where they know that we respect the breath of God, the soul that is within all of us.”
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