Honoring veterans in our cemeteries on Memorial Day

BY JAMES BRASCO
DIRECTOR OF THE DIOCESAN
ST. JOHN'S CEMETERY SYSTEM
 
In recognition of Memorial Day, Masses will be celebrated in the clergy section of St. John Cemetery and in the main Mausoleum Chapel of Notre Dame Cemetery in Worcester at 10 a.m. Other Masses may be celebrated in parish cemeteries throughout the diocese.
 
While summer doesn’t officially start until June 20, families everywhere celebrate Memorial Day weekend as the unofficial start to summer with the first picnics and barbeques of the year. For many others however, Catholics included, Memorial Day weekend remains true to its intended purpose – to honor men and women who died while serving this country in the United States military.
The roots of Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, are planted in the mid-1800s and in our country’s cemeteries.  The Civil War saw more casualties than any other conflict in U.S. history, requiring the government to create national cemeteries. By the late-1860s, Americans in various towns had begun holding springtime tributes to these fallen soldiers and began decorating graves with flowers and reciting graveside prayers. While no one is 100% sure where this tradition started, in 1966 the federal government declared Waterloo, New York, the official birthplace of Memorial Day. Waterloo, which had been celebrating this day since 1866, was chosen because of its  annual, community-wide celebration which included  decorating soldier’s graves and closing of businesses so that everyone could participate.
For decades, Memorial Day continued to be observed on May 30, but, in 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May in order to create a three-day weekend for federal employees; the change went into effect in 1971.
In the Diocese of Worcester, the customs that started back in the 1860s are still onserved. Memorial Day weekend and the warmer days leading up to it see an exponential increase in visitors to the many Catholic cemeteries. Families can be seen trimming grass around graves, cleaning headstones, placing flags, planting flowers and saying prayers. Staff members at the cemeteries can be found diligently installing official veterans’ markers.
Our local Catholic families have extended this tradition beyond honoring just those who served our country. Memorial Day weekend has become a focused time to come visit and tend to the graves of all family members. Many families can be seen going from gravesite to gravesite, visiting generation upon generation of family members.  It is not uncommon to find a visitor relaxing, prayerfully reflecting and reminiscing in a lawn chair for a few hours at the grave of a loved one.
The St. John’s Cemetery System partners with and supports the local parishes in honoring this special day. 
At St. John Cemetery and Mausoleum in Worcester, the diocese’s largest Catholic cemetery with nearly 100,000 people interred there, official Memorial Day tributes always start early. Hundreds gathered May 24, as Kevin Mercadante of the Mercadante Funeral Home, Sherriff Lewis Evangelidis, local American Legion Posts and other veterans service organizations came together to place flags on the graves of our beloved deceased veterans. This special salute to the veterans included the blessing of the flags officiated by Deacon John “Jack” Franchi, a veteran. A  rendition of the National Anthem was sung by Lois Dwira. And the Worcester County Sherriff’s Department Color Guard was in attendance. 
Our Memorial Day events continue throughout the weekend concluding with an outdoor Mass in the Clergy Section of St. John Cemetery and Mass in the Main Mausoleum Chapel of the Notre Dame Cemetery in Worcester.  Masses will be celebrated Veterans and Memorial events will be taking place in Parish cemeteries throughout the Diocese each unique to its community but all sharing in the common spirit of the Day.
Much of the staff of the St. John Cemetery System of the Diocese of Worcester spend the three-day weekend working and canvassing the various cemeteries. Staff members can be found distributing flags, helping families find a grave location, distributing pre-planning information and assisting.
While many holidays can lose their original meaning or see that meaning, it is refreshing to see the Catholic faithful of the Diocese of Worcester hold this holiday true to their hearts.
For assistance in our cemeteries call 508-757-7415 or visit worcesterdiocese.org/st-john-cemetery
 
–  Mr. Brasco can be reached at 508-757-7415 or by emailing [email protected].