"Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed,in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed..." 1 Cor 15:52
In May, 1963, the Vatican’s Holy office (now the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith) lifted the prohibition forbidding Catholics to choose cremation. This permission was incorporated into the revised Code of Canon Law of 1983 as well as into the Order of Christian Funerals. It then became standard practice to celebrate the funeral liturgies with the body and then take the body to the crematorium. Most recently the bishops of the United States and the Holy See have authorized the celebration of a Catholic funeral liturgy with the cremated remains (cremains) when the body is cremated before the funeral.
Respectful final disposition of cremains involves interment or entombment. The consistent Catholic teaching on the sacredness of the human body includes a sober burial of the remains. Scattering ashes, storage in closets or lockers, displaying urns on mantles, or dispensing the cremains in jewelry or mementos are not the "reverent disposition" the Church requires. Burial options include a family grave in a cemetery marked with a traditional memorial stone or an urn garden or a special section in a cemetery with small, pre-dug graves for urns. Another choice is to be interred in a columbarium. (For more information, click here)
St. John's has built a columbarium so the cremains may be laid to rest on hallowed ground. The columbarium is located on the west side of the Church where it faces east recognizing the dead being called into the risen Christ's light.
Below is a link to our policies and procedures for those who wish to inquire about cremation and using the columbarium. An application is also downloadable below.
For more information, contact the church office.