Frederick parish opens first cremation-only cemetery in archdiocese

A cremation-only cemetery at St. Katharine Drexel Parish in Frederick is the first of its kind in the area, according to Nathan Nardi, director of cemetery operations for the Archdiocese of Baltimore. 

The site includes five standing columbaria, structures built specifically for the interment of cremated remains. Each granite hexagon has 72 niches, which can hold two urns each, whose shutters (doors) have brass plaques with the name of the deceased. 

The cemetery also has places for in-ground burial of ashes, which must be in biodegradable containers. “We didn’t want to introduce plastic to the area,” Nardi said. “We’re trying to be green.”

In addition to the archdiocesan cemetery, New Cathedral Cemetery in West Baltimore, about 50 parishes in the archdiocese have either graveyards or cemeteries. Graveyards are smaller, rectangular spaces immediately adjacent to the church; cemeteries are more set apart from the church. Not all the cemeteries are active and not all have columbaria for cremated remains, Nardi said.

At St. Katharine Drexel, the property, which was once part of a working farm, had family members buried there between 1803 and 1888. The parish “wanted to preserve that, because it was already set aside as a cemetery.”

The project includes a wall that displays headstones that were cleaned and preserved. “It tells the whole story, not just that we are burying people, but honoring past generations of people,” Nardi said. “The whole purpose of a cemetery is to honor the generations that came before.”

The site was dedicated and blessed Sept. 28. Nardi said before construction began, more than 100 families had purchased space in the new cemetery.

The decision not to have full-body burials at St. Katharine Drexel reflects a growing trend in final disposition of human remains. 

According to a July 2024 report from the National Funeral Directors Association, more than six in 10 final dispositions in 2024 were cremations, up almost 3 percent from just two years ago. The NFDA expects cremations to take up 82 percent of final dispositions by 2045, with full-body burials decreasing to 13 percent by that time.

Cremation tends to be more popular in Western states, with seven states already at more than 83 percent. In Maryland this year, cremations were 55 percent of dispositions, versus 38 percent for burials.

The Vatican allowed cremation for Catholics beginning in 1963, as long as the practice remains in line with the fundamental belief in the resurrection. The remains should be interred in the ground or a columbarium, not kept at home or scattered.

“Cremation is becoming increasingly more popular – with all people, not just Catholics,” Nardi said. “We expect that will continue to increase until the national average is closer to 75 or 80 percent.”

As a result, the archdiocese will continue to work with parishes and cemetery properties to create more opportunities for the interment of cremated remains. “At the end of the day, we need to have something parishioners want,” Nardi said.

Parishes in Glen Burnie and Fullerton are working on building columbaria, and his office is helping St. Bartholomew in Manchester to build a new cemetery. They are also working with another parish to install an indoor columbarium inside a chapel that was used as the former parish church, another unique project.

As the church celebrates All Saints and All Souls Day at the beginning of November, Nardi said a Catholic cemetery is a response to the call for the church to care for the dead, one of the corporal works of mercy. “We’re not driven by profit; we’re driven by mission. This is sacred ground, and it’s blessed that way.”

Proceeds from the cemeteries support perpetual care of the grounds and graves, as well as other ministries, such as burial of urns that people may have been keeping in their homes for years, and burial of miscarried or still-born babies.

Father Patrick Carrion, director of cemetery management for the archdiocese, said the burial of urns in a common vault, done once a year for a nominal fee, ensures that cremated remains don’t become a “possession” that has to be passed along from generation to generation. 

“Be respectful and lay the person to rest,” he said. “It’s a relief for many. They know they are doing the right thing.”

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