Catholic mortuary aims to preserve faith’s burial traditions

Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Mesa could be a force for preserving Catholic funeral practices and traditions with the construction of its own mortuary.

Now besides having a loved one buried in a Catholic cemetery, Catholics can engage a Catholic mortuary to handle every detail from the time of death.

In the face of an industry more consolidated into corporate chains delivering more generic services, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix has built its own funeral home, a 10,000-square-foot mortuary at the southeast corner of the 52-acre cemetery at 1562 E. Baseline Road, Mesa.

Its use and success could lead to additional mortuaries at some of the diocese’s other five cemeteries — two in Phoenix and one each in Avondale, Cottonwood and Flagstaff.

Queen of Heaven Cemetery is just the fourth Catholic cemetery in the country to build its own full-service mortuary and the third to put it under diocesan cemetery operations.

“Catholic cemeteries are a vital agent in assuring that the faithfully departed are treated in a loving and respectful manner that reflects the church’s concern,” wrote Bishop Thomas Olmsted for Catholic Cemeteries’ newest guidebook, “Preparing a Catholic Funeral.”

“A growing concern among Catholic leaders throughout the United States has been the trend in American society to move further and further away from the burial traditions of the church,” the diocese said in a statement for the mortuary’s opening on July 1. Operating its own mortuaries would serve to “restore the traditional role of the funeral ministry,” it said.

The new mortuary features a 200-seat chapel accented by a commanding stained-glass window featuring the Madonna and child. While Olmsted blessed the chapel, he has instructed that it not be used for funeral Masses. “The bishop would like to see families go back to their parishes for funeral Masses, but we could have Masses here for special occasions if we need to because it has been blessed,” said Harry Antram, Queen of Heaven’s director of funeral services.

The chapel will be used primarily for rosaries and vigil services, as well as scriptured services led by a deacon. The space can also be used by non-Catholic funerals if they are Christian.

The space features a 65-inch TV screen that can show slides of a person’s life set to music. Across the hallway, three visitation rooms have smaller flat screens where photos on DVD can be shown continuously as families meet with loved ones and friends.

“We will serve any denomination as long as they are Christian and as long as they don’t do anything that is against the teachings of the Catholic Church,” Antram said. “The greater part of our business does need to be Catholic because we are operating as an evangelization tool to Catholic families.”

To plan the funerals, families gather in a room and behold the “virtual selection room,” a large screen where all the information is posted to ensure correct spellings and history, then a warehouse of caskets can be viewed online and customized.

In the mortuary’s casket room, portions of about 20 casket models are displayed. “The family can then pull out a drawer, and it shows what the casket, the material in the casket and the headband look like,” Antram said.

A native of Alamogordo, N.M., and former president of the New Mexico Funeral Directors Association, with more than 20 years of experience, Antram said the mortuary may be a means to reach inactive Catholics. “We are hoping we might bring them back,” he said. He told about arranging pre-funeral needs with a family of “fallen-away Catholics” and spending hours in conversation. “I think I may have helped plant the seed that they need to come back to the church,” he said.

“I was able to share how a death in a family has affected a person’s life in a spiritual way and how maybe reconnecting with a church might bring new life and meaning to them, so that is what we really see as our mission,” said Antram, 43. In time, he hopes that he can add a nun or priest to the staff to oversee bereavement services and outreach. “We are trying to take small baby steps to lay out a solid foundation,” he said.

Cremation services are offered. Vatican Council II in 1963 permitted cremation as an acceptable alternative, but burial remains preferred by the church.

“Many Catholics do not understand what the church teaches” regarding cremation and other death issues, Antram said. “We feel that life has become devalued in many respects and largely because of no adequate education.”

Cremation, especially, is fraught with misinformation, he said. “The church is teaching that scattering cremated remains is not the proper disposition, that the body should remain whole, even if it is cremated. It should not be separated.”

“If you said, 'Harry, I am going to take my wife’s cremains, and I am going to scatter them over the ocean,’ then I will say, 'the bishop has asked me to educate your family that that is not acceptable.’ ”

Antram estimates that two in five Catholics are not buried in Catholic cemeteries. “We can help educate people on the importance of a Catholic cemetery,” he said. “The church teaches that Catholics should first seek out burial in the Catholic cemetery, above all places, because it is considered sacred ground.”

While some cemetery operators claim their graves are sacred ground because priests have blessed them, “it is not considered by the church as sacred ground,” Antram said.

Cultural nuances are accommodated, he said.

For two recent Vietnamese Catholics funerals, families burned incense and “put extra clothing into the caskets.” Hispanic families often insist that the funeral procession from the church to the cemetery include a slow drive past the home of the deceased, with a brief stop for a prayer.

“What we have heard from almost every family that has come here is they are astounded with the feeling of holiness when they walk into the funeral home. It is not a generic feeling. They like the religious statuary, the spiritual artwork, and they feel at home.”

Queen of Heaven Mortuary

1562 E. Baseline Road, Mesa, (480) 892-3729 or e-mail hantram@diocesephoenix.org