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Calvary Cemetery

2024 marks the 150th anniversary of Calvary Cemetery in Lexington. To commemorate this milestone, the cemetery and Diocese are hosting a series of events throughout the year.  Please join us in attending and honoring the cemetery’s mission in preserving the memory of loved ones who are laid to rest. 

A Holy Place

The Catholic Church only consecrates two places as Holy Ground: a church and a cemetery. The consecration of Calvary Cemetery makes it a holy place. This gives Calvary Cemetery a unique position as the only Catholic cemetery in Fayette County. 

Calvary Cemetery is blessed by the Catholic Church and is dedicated to God as a place for worship, prayer, and reflection upon both Divine Truth and the meaning of life. It provides a resting place for the bodies of the Faithful Departed until the day of Resurrection.

The choice to be interred in a Catholic cemetery alongside fellow believers also represents a final and continuing profession of faith in God and of membership in the Catholic Church.

A Brief History

The New Cemetery was established in 1874. The name was officially changed to Calvary Cemetery in 1921. Today, the cemetery rests on 21.92 acres of land.

Calvary Cemetery was not the first Catholic cemetery in Fayette County. In 1865, the Old Third Street Cemetery had been established and was associated with St. Paul Parish. However, it was subsequently closed and, between 1875 and 1893, many of those interred were moved to the New Cemetery (Calvary).

A small mausoleum, Via Dolorosa, was later donated by Robert Lehman and moved from his Golden Chance Farm, located near Paris, Kentucky. The mausoleum has crypt spaces and niches. Since 2015, fetal loss (0 to 12 weeks) remains are interred in the mausoleum in a moving ceremony in partnership with St. Joseph Hospital.

The first recorded interment in the New Cemetery, Thomas Cronin, took place on April 6, 1875. Since then, over 12,000 souls have chosen Calvary Cemetery as their final resting place.

Pre-Planning

There are typically two ways that interment arrangements are made. Some people, typically in their middle years, make interment arrangements in advance of need, a practice commonly called pre-need. Others wait until a death occurs and will make one of two decisions: either purchase a single interment space to accommodate the deceased or purchase two spaces to accommodate the deceased and the future need of the spouse. With so many decisions having to be made at the time of a death, it is always wise to make interment decisions and reserve spaces well in advance. 

Calvary Cemetery offers several interment options. The most common of these is full body burial in the ground, i.e. a ground space that will accommodate either a flush marker or an upright monument. The mausoleum crypt can accommodate one or two full-body entombments. 

Cremation presents additional options.  Calvary Cemetery offers interment for cremated remains in its columbarium and, in certain circumstances, with the permission of both the cemetery and the owner of a ground burial right, a burial plot.

It is important to note that for the Catholic Church, the scattering, co-mingling with other cremated remains, or use of cremated remains for jewelry are not appropriate ways in which the dignity of the baptized is acknowledged and accomplished. This is due to the special dignity afforded to the believer at the time of baptism, that is, the body becomes a temple of the Holy Spirit. 

On an additional note, the Catholic parish always records the place of final interment in its Death Register. The dignity conferred with baptism, combined with traditional religious and psychological practice, supports the need to memorialize (identify) the space where the final interment takes place. Consequently, the interment decision should always be communicated to the parish when making funeral arrangements or shortly thereafter. 

We invite you to consider Calvary Cemetery for your interment needs. Contact Fran Borders at fborders@cdlex.org or 859-252-5415 to schedule a pre-planning session.

In December 2021, a columbarium was installed at Calvary Cemetery to accommodate the interment of cremated remains. Bishop John Stowe, OFM Conv. blessed the 144 niches of the columbarium on November 6, 2022, naming the section after Saint Gertrude the Great, who is often invoked for the souls in Purgatory.

Bereavement & Grief Support

Bereavement and grief are two long-standing words that are used to identify and describe the human reaction to severe personal loss, especially as it pertains to a spouse, parents, and children. Bereavement is the period of the most intense emotional response that survivors experience closest to the time of the death of a loved one. Gradually, the state of bereavement transitions into a period of grief. It is important to note that individuals experience these emotional states at their own pace; there are no fixed rules for how long each state might last. 

In earlier centuries when families lived in smaller villages and towns, the local parish cemetery was located closer to their homes. This made it easier for grieving family members to return to the interment site where they might spend time in prayer for and remembrance of the deceased. The Catholic Church has always taught that it is a venerable practice to remember the dead in prayer and thanksgiving. For this reason, Catholic cemeteries have long encouraged the longstanding practice of attending to the graves of loved ones with permitted seasonal decorations. 

While our cemeteries are often no longer located close to our homes, the church has continued to support and encourage members to continue the tradition of prayer for the beloved dead. After all, a key Catholic belief is that one day we will be reunited with our beloved in eternity as promised by the Risen Savior. 

Many parishes, recognizing the need for both time and personal support, sponsor and facilitate Grief & Bereavement Support Groups. These are often facilitated by individuals trained in this field. No time limits are ever fixed for individuals to be able to participate; gradual healing is accomplished as individuals are encouraged to share their memories of loved ones who have passed into eternal life. Please contact your parish for more information about the support it can offer to families in their time of need. 

Fran Borders

Manager

Phone    859-252-5415
Fax        859-252-0457

ccemetery@cdlex.org

fborders@cdlex.org