A New Tradition
The "Coming Home" Project at Cedar Grove Cemetery is the result of several years' study of available options to extend the longevity of the Cemetery and potentially expand the Cemetery and its ministry to a wider Notre Dame community.
Since 1843, a year after the University was founded, the Cemetery has been dedicated to practicing the corporal act of mercy of burying the dead, and the spiritual works of mercy of comforting the afflicted and praying for the living and the dead.
In order to ensure the continuation of these ministries, a Master Plan for Cedar Grove Cemetery was developed, guided by the goals of:
- Serving ministry needs
- Expanding chapel use
- Continuing as a 'good Steward' of University property
- Broadening Cemetery inventory
- Expanding constituent eligibility
- Weaving "new" Cemetery with "old"
These goals are aligned with the University's tenets for campus planning and mirror its own Master Plan.
Features of the Cedar Grove Master Plan include:
- Expanding the choices of burial options to include above-ground interment, in either an open-air mausoleum crypt or niche
- Adding new features on existing Cemetery grounds, particularly columbarium walls (low-profile structures with a series of niches for cremated remains), religious statuary, and memorial walkways
- Extending the Cemetery's ministry to Alumni
The "Coming Home" Project is the next step of the Master Plan, designed to reach Alumni with information, education, and ask their interest in participating in the project.
Please take the time now to read the letter from Fr. Seetch if you have not yet done so, and to return to this site for more news as the "Coming Home" Project evolves.
