Holy Ground: Cemeteries of Loretto

The cemeteries of the Sisters of Loretto are indeed holy ground. Loretto members  and others rest in the sacred earth God has given us. God loves each soul whose final mission is their journey into our Creator’s life. They are now sacred souls in sacred earth forever.

Elaine Marie Prevallet SL has written, “Scriptures tell us that all of creation is holy ground. God’s creating continues even now; we regard all ground as holy where God is present.” Holy ground is a place of life-giving rootedness, something deep enough to keep us rooted in the place where faith has moved mountains.

Loretto members are buried in cemeteries all over the United States. The largest is Our Lady of Sorrows Cemetery at the Motherhouse. It honors all Sisters, Co-members, oblates and enslaved persons who worked at the Motherhouse. It recognizes all members who have been cremated or have donated their body to science. The holy ground of our AIDS Garden lies on the crest of the hill next to the larger cemetery. In the Loretto forest is the Loretto Woods Natural Burial Cemetery where members and friends who have chosen this type of burial are buried without coffin in the holy ground of the Motherhouse.

Cemeteries around the U.S. far from Kentucky hold the bodies of our Sisters in holy ground. You will find them in the El Paso area, St. Louis Calvary Cemetery, Denver and Pueblo, Colorado, New Mexico communities, Kansas, California and small towns in many states. To find a member go to the necrology page on the Loretto website.

Every night at Compline the Sisters pray Psalm 130:
“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits. For I hope in God’s word.
“For with the Lord, there is loving mercy and the fullness of life forever.”

This week on Loretto’s socials we continue to commemorate Loretto members who have gone before us, inviting all to keep them in your prayers and to visit their gravesites, in person or virtually through the new necrology search tool.