New Orleans Archdiocesan Cemeteries Submitted by: Eva Brechtel October 2003 Source: Clarion Herald Good Business Matters New Orleans August 13, 2003 p. 24 ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** Notes: ==Posted with Permission from the Clarion Herald== Accompanied by a photo with the caption "MIKE BOUDREAUX is director of the archdiocesan Cemeteries Office. (Photo by Frank J. Methe)" New Orleans Archdiocesan Cemeteries by Florence L. Herman Care and concern for families who have loved ones buried in archdiocesan cemeteries has always been the primary direct of staff, said Archdiocesan Cemeteries direction Mike Boudreaux. "Our cemetery personnel on site have more of the contact with families in their time of need," said Boudreaux, "so we have ongoing training to help them answer families questions." The corporate entity that is Archdiocesan Cemeteries came into being in 1966. Prior to that, the individual parish or religious congregation to which the cemetery belonged handled all the records and accounting. Now, all paperwork is handled centrally for the five archdiocesan cemeteries. The office has responsibilities for St. Louis, St. Patrick, St. Joseph, St. Vincent, and St. Roch cemeteries, maintains a perpetual care mausoleum at St. Charles Cemetery in Luling, and advises and helps to manage 14 parish cemeteries throughout the archdiocese. The cemeteries office strongly urges families who own individual tombs to put them under perpetual care, and that is a condition of new tombs they sell. "It relieves the family of upkeep and maintenance," said Boudreaux. "We'll restore a tomb, put it under perpetual care and from then on it is easy to maintain at no burden to the family. We have crew of six men who are continually on the move to inspect tombs and do needed maintenance work." In special cases, such as historic St. Louis No. 1 and No. 2 cemeteries, restoration is an ongoing nad costly process. last year, Tulane University and the University of Pennsylvania teamed up to get a grant from Save America's Treasures and restored 31 tombs in St. Louis No. 1. A pending grant proposal this year will bring money to resort tombs in St. Louis No. 2. "I would estimate that less than 10 percent of the families in St. Louis No. 1 know they have loved ones buried there," Boudreaux explained. "We try to restore them as we can because they are treasures." Boudreaux said they try to accommodate families at the older cemeteries during special times of the year, like All Saints' Day, with extra police security and longer hours. The central cemeteries office also maintains a genealogy component to help families who want information about family members buried in the Catholic cemeteries. "We have records here dating back to the 1800s," Boudreaux said, "and in some instances they also tell the cause of death. We get inquiries on a pretty steady basis." He also maintains the cemetery's dignity, carefully vetting any requests to film in any of the cemeteries. "We have a permit we issue. We also look carefully at the script. But most of our requests come from documentary makers of the Travel Channel. We do insist, however, that no family names be shown." The archdiocesan cemeteries have been looking into expanding to build a Catholic cemetery on the Northshore, but land is at a premium. "We would also make sure that there is a need," Boudreaux said. "Families that have moved to the Northshore, though, still continue to use their family tombs on this side of the lake – that's how strong the ties are." Boudreaux feels that mausoleums, rather than inground burial will be used more int the future. "You can serve many more families with less land that way. But there will always be people who want an in-ground tomb, and all our future ventures will accommodate that need." Archdiocesan Cemeteries office is at 1000 Howard Ave., Suite 500, New Orleans, LA 70113; telephone (504) 596-3050.