CRANSTON — The Office of Catholic Cemeteries for the Diocese of Providence is offering crypts and niches for sale in a new mausoleum that is designed to evoke the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Providence.
At the center of the Saints Peter and Paul Mausoleum, located at St. Anne’s Cemetery in Cranston, is a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, which will be lined with side-by-side companion crypts, as well as crypts for individual burial.
The mausoleum, which is under construction, will contain 2,086 casket spaces, 552 marble front niches and 122 glass front niches, with spaces in some areas already selling out, according to the Office of Catholic Cemeteries.
Located in an alcove on the back wall to the left and right of the chapel mural will be two family rooms, each containing companion couch crypts, seven levels high, for a total of 14 casket spaces. Each room will also have the family name inscribed on a gate providing a private area that will be accessible only to family members. Corridors inside the mausoleum are named for various parishes in the diocese, with each corridor having a stained glass window and a sculpture dedicated to its namesake saint. The mausoleum will also have four covered cloistered areas — named after the four Gospel writers — that will consist of open arches for people who want a garden setting that is protected from the elements.
In the mausoleum, there will also be courtyards, containing crypts, named for St. Anthony, St. Rocco and the Blessed Sacrament.
Last year, the Office of Catholic Cemeteries instituted a Parish Incentive Program to promote sales of burial spaces at the mausoleum. Every parish in the diocese was offered an ad to place in its Sunday bulletin to inform families about the program.
For each sale of a mausoleum crypt that is referred from the parish bulletin, the Office of Catholic Cemeteries will donate $250 to that parish for whatever use it deems necessary, such as for its general fund or fundraising campaigns. Last fall, Holy Apostles Church in Cranston, the first parish to participate in the program, was presented with a $500 check for two sales the parish referred to Catholic Cemeteries last July. A few other parishes have since also referred sales.
For more information on the mausoleum and reserving a space, call or email Bill Herren, the family services coordinator for the Office of Catholic Cemeteries, at 401-742-0796 or bherren@dioceseofprovidence.org.
