Archbishop Shawn McKnight blesses the new rosary garden at Resurrection Cemetery, Lenexa, on July 30. LEAVEN PHOTO BY JAY SOLDNER
by Therese Horvat
Special to The Leaven
LENEXA — In a highly symbolic outdoor ceremony, Archbishop Shawn McKnight dedicated and blessed the new rosary garden at Resurrection Cemetery here on July 30.
In his opening remarks, Archbishop McKnight observed, “Our belief in Christ’s resurrection comes with the responsibility to manifest this belief through our respect for the final remains of our loved ones. Resurrection Cemetery does this in its almost park-like setting that is beautiful and inviting.”
After the introductory prayers, the archbishop processed through the garden, accompanied by six Holy Trinity, Lenexa, Knights of Columbus and followed by a large gathering of area parishioners and other guests. At each of four large columbaria representing the four different sets of mysteries of the rosary, he gave a brief reflection. He then blessed each columbarium and the statue atop it, signifying a particular mystery of the rosary, and led the group in recitation of prayers of the rosary.
Archbishop Shawn McKnight, with assistance from Father Keith Chadwick and accompanied by Knights of Columbus from Holy Trinity Parish, Lenexa, blesses the new rosary garden at Resurrection Cemetery in Lenexa. LEAVEN PHOTO BY JAY SOLDNER
Throughout the procession, Michael Podrebarac, archdiocesan consultant for liturgy and sacramental life, led the group in singing verses of “Immaculate Mary.” Father Keith Chadwick, pastor of Christ the King Parish in Kansas City, Kansas, served as master of ceremonies.
The dedication ended in the committal shelter that is centrally located in the garden where the archbishop prayed, “Grant that this cemetery section, dedicated to the mysteries of our salvation and the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, may, by the power of your blessing, be a place of rest and hope. May those laid to rest here sleep in your peace, to rise immortal at the coming of your Son.
May this place be a comfort to the living, a sign of their hope for unending life. May prayers be offered here continually in supplication for those who sleep in Christ and in constant praise of your mercy.”
After the closing prayer, the archbishop pronounced, “It is blessed.”
Sharon Vallejo, president of Catholic Cemeteries of Northeast Kansas, offers opening remarks during the rosary garden blessing. LEAVEN PHOTO BY JAY SOLDNER
In her opening remarks, Sharon Vallejo, president of Catholic Cemeteries of Northeast Kansas, described special features of the rosary garden that guests viewed during the procession. These include large stamped red circles on the path that winds through the garden, representing beads of the rosary.
Daily, the prayers of the rosary will be piped through the sound system installed in the new garden.
The garden provides multiple burial and entombment options for families and individuals including: private estates; creatively designed and placed columbaria for cremated remains; and traditional in-ground gravesites.
Vallejo acknowledged the work of Clark & Green Associates of Irvine, California; Straub Construction, Shawnee; NSPJ Architects, Prairie Village; Johnson Granite Supply, Kansas City, Missouri; and Coldspring Granite, Cold Spring, Minnesota. She credited the Catholic Cemeteries board of trustees and staff for their support and involvement in the project.
Presales of burial and entombment options in the garden financed the construction. Vallejo noted that the response to the new section has been so positive that Catholic Cemeteries is already planning a second phase of the garden at Resurrection and considering development of a similar section at other managed cemeteries.
The garden is an outgrowth of Vallejo’s personal devotion to the rosary. Additionally, the new section is Catholic Cemeteries’ direct response to families requesting more options for their members to be laid to final rest together.
For more information, call (913) 371-4040 or send an email to: information@cathcemks.org.
To view more photos from the rosary garden blessing, click here.
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