Cemetery featured in Abbey Newsletter
08.04.2011
Saint John’s Abbey Serves the Cemetery Needs
The monastic work of caring for the deceased is a mandate that extends not only to their own community, but to all alumni/ae, faculty, staff, oblates and friends. In designing the Saint John’s Alumni and Friends Cemetery expansion, the monks took into consideration both the physical and the spiritual needs of those who would be served here. Within the cemetery, the landscape design incorporates views of the lake and the nearby woods, with the addition of more trees, shrubs, and flowers to enhance the natural environment of the cemetery. For the spiritual component, two epitaph granite walls engraved with Scripture provide reflection spaces near the benches in the courtyard. A replica of the monastery’s granite and wood cross has been placed at the opposite end of the Alumni and Friends Cemetery main entry gates to bless this section. And when interment services are eventually needed, some from the Saint John’s monastic community are on hand to conduct the blessing and to pray with the family.
"Many former students, friends, and neighbors of Saint John's, for a variety of reasons, feel a strong bond with Saint John's,” said Fr. Don Talafous, OSB, who has on occasion presided at cemetery services. “They think of interment in our cemetery as a sort of 'homecoming' which gives them a sense of closeness to the whole Saint John's family: graduates, friends, Abbey members present and deceased--and to the place. We're honored that so many choose Saint John's for their cemetery and we strive to be sensitive to the needs of their families at such a momentous time.”
Whether there are large numbers of family and friends present, or only a number of monks and a few family at the grave site for the final commendation, Saint John’s Abbey shows the same care and respect every time.
Reprinted from: Saint John's Abbey "Abbey Development Newsletter", Summer, 2011.