Diocesan Cemetery Regulations
From the Director: Please observe these rules and regulations to keep the Catholic Cemeteries a proper and sacred place for the burial of our departed brothers and sisters. Contact the office if you have any questions regarding rules for your particular burial space. Thank you for your cooperation.
For the mutual protection and benefit of easement rights holders in Saint Joseph, Resurrection, Holy Cross, and Mount Calvary Cemeteries as adopted and amended November 1, 1990. The Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus, Ohio hereby adopts the following rules and regulations.
All holders and persons within these cemeteries, and all burial spaces, shall be subject to said rules and regulations and such amendments or alterations thereof or additions thereto as shall be adopted by the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus, Ohio. The reference to these rules and regulations in the document conveying the right of interment shall have the same force and effect as those printed in this book.
Finally, these rules and regulations are patterned after national guidelines established by the National Catholic Cemetery Conference and its Episcopal Moderators.
Purpose of Cemetery
The Catholic Cemetery is intended for the interment, entombment, or inurnment of Catholics who are entitled to Christian burial according to the rules of the Roman Catholic Church.
Interment of non-Catholic members of a Catholic family will be permitted under most conditions as the Church does not wish to separate in death those who were united in life, but some interments shall be subject to permission from the Management.
Admission to Cemetery
The Management reserves the right to refuse admission to the Cemetery to any persons who are not there for the sole purpose of burying the dead, visiting a grave or paying respects to the memory of the dead.
Arrangements for Funerals and Interments
The Management shall require those wishing to make a selection of a burial space for immediate interment or to arrange for a funeral or interment to come to the Cemetery office in ample time to complete arrangements.
The reason for this rule is to insure accurate recording of the choice of burial space and type of interment - whether graveside or chapel, and to obtain proper authorization by someone with legal authority for the family to sign for the opening and closing of the burial space.
When a crypt space is paid for on a preneed basis, there is no need for any family member to come to the cemetery office to make arrangements prior to the entombment.
Funerals shall not be admitted to the Cemetery when they are escorted or accompanied by societies, organizations, or lodges which are banned by Church Law. Certain fraternal or lodge services not otherwise forbidden by Church Law may be permitted by the Management, provided specific permission is obtained a reasonable time in advance.
The Management may accept a request for an interment or opening of a burial space with proper written authorization from any easement rights holder of record, unless there are written instructions to the contrary on file in the office of the Management.
The Management shall not be responsible for any interment or entombment information or instructions given by telephone, text, fax, or email, or any mistake occurring from the want of proper instructions as to the size of the casket or as to the particular burial location where interment or entombment is to be made.
The Management reserves the right to make an equitable charge whenever additional labor costs result from such mistakes.
The Management shall be in no way liable for any delay in the interment or entombment of a body where a protest to the interment or entombment has been made, or where the rules and regulations have not been complied with, or where the rules and regulations shall forbid such interment or entombment; and further, the Management reserves the right, under such circumstances, to place the body in a receiving vault until full rights have been determined. Any protest must be in writing and filed in the Cemetery office.
The Management shall not be responsible for not being notified by the funeral home or family that a burial is to take place.
Interment Procedure
All funerals upon entering the Cemetery shall be under the exclusive charge and sole direction of the Management.
A Burial Transit Permit for each funeral as required by local Government or Public Authority having jurisdiction of the matter must be presented to the Management before interment is completed.
The Management shall not be liable for the Burial Transit Permit or responsible for the accuracy of the data contained in the permit or the identity of the person to be interred, entombed, or inurned.
The Management reserves the right to request evidence of eligibility for Catholic burial according to the norms of Church Law.
The casket may not be opened at any time within the Cemetery without the express permission and in the presence of the Management. The Management reserves the right to refuse permission to anyone to open the casket or to touch the body without the consent of the legal representative of the deceased or without a Court Order. In the event necessity requires, the Management may take appropriate steps to correct any obnoxious or improper conditions. When it has been approved by the Management, a casket may be opened by a funeral director.
The interment of cremated remains, when it is in violation of the provisions of Church Law, is forbidden.” Consult with the office for current guidelines regarding cremation. The cremated remains of a body should be treated with the same respect given to the human body from which they come. This includes the use of a worthy vessel to contain the ashes, the manner in which they are carried, the care and attention to appropriate placement and transport, and the final disposition.
The cremated remains should be buried in a grave or entombed in a mausoleum or columbarium. The practice of scattering cremated remains on the sea, from the air, or on the ground, or keeping cremated remains in the home of a relative or friend of the deceased are not the reverent disposition that the church requires [emphasis added]. OCF, No. 417
Because of increased labor costs, funerals arriving after 2: 00 p. m. on weekdays shall be assessed a fee, dependent on the time of arrival. All Saturday funerals must arrive by 12:00 noon.
Besides being subject to these rules and regulations, all interments and removals shall be subject to the orders and laws of the properly constituted authorities of the city, county, state, and federal, including the Regulations of the Department of Health.
Only persons employed by the Catholic Cemeteries of Columbus and only equipment owned or operated by the Management shall be used in making interments, disinterments and removals unless the Management makes other arrangements.
Flowers must be delivered at the burial space or chapel in sufficient time to permit arrangement before the funeral arrives.
No more than six floral arrangements, including the casket spray will be permitted. Designs shall conform to Catholic thought and practice.
It is recommended that all fees be paid at the time burial arrangements are being made at the office.
Disinterments and Removals
No disinterments or removal shall be allowed except with the permission of the Management. Written application of the surviving spouse or a court order is required. All disinterments must follow proper legal procedure.
All requests for disinterments must be made through the Cemetery office.
An application for disinterments under section 517.23 of The Ohio Revised Code shall be in writing and may be made by the surviving spouse of the deceased if the applicant is eighteen (18) years of age or older, or by order of the probate court. The application shall be subscribed, verified by oath, notarized, and filed in the Cemetery Office.
The Management shall exercise due care in making disinterments and removal, but it shall assume no liability for the damage incurred to any casket or vault in making the disinterment and removal.
The Management shall have the right to designate the hour and manner in which interments, disinterments and removals will or will not be permitted. All interments, disinterments and removals shall be subject to the payment of such charges as shall be fixed by the Management.
Correction of Errors
The Management reserves, and shall have, the right to correct any errors that may be made by it either in making interments, disinterments or removals, or in the description, transfer, or conveyance of any easement rights or burial space, either by canceling such conveyance and substituting and conveying in lieu thereof other easement rights or burial space of equal value and similar location as far as possible as may be selected by the Management, or at the sole discretion of the Management, by refunding the money paid on account of such purchase. In the event, any such error shall involve the interment of the remains of any person in any burial space, the Management reserves, and shall have, the right to remove and reinter the remains in such other burial space of equal value and similar location as may be substituted and conveyed in lieu thereof.
Instructions to Easement Rights Holders and Holders Rights
Persons arranging for interments must visit the Cemetery where the Management will aid them in making the necessary arrangements.
The Management reserves the right to specify the terms of purchase of all easement rights in burial spaces.
Should the burial space purchaser fail to carry out the terms of the purchase agreement, the Management may declare the agreement canceled and all easement rights of the purchaser in and to the burial space forfeited.
Burial rights purchasers should familiarize themselves with and follow the rules and regulations for grave decorations and plantings.
All in-ground interments shall be made with an outside liner, burial vault or combination casket/ vault container, which meet cemetery standards.
Cremated remains shall be placed in a worthy container and when inurned in-ground shall be placed inside a recoverable container of concrete, steel or heavy plastic, as approved by the Cemetery.
The remains of one human being only shall be interred in one burial space, unless such burial space has been purchased with written agreement, or unless permission is granted by written consent of the Management, that more than one body may be interred and provided proper identification is made of such interment or interments in one regulation burial space.
When the inurnment of cremated remains takes place on top of an existing interment, a minimum of twelve inches of soil must cover the cremation vault.
The use of the burial space is for the easement rights holder or holder’s relatives, subject to the written consent of the holder, if requested by the Management, for interment purpose only and not for resale or profit.
By special permission of the Management a person not a member of the easement rights holder’s family may be interred in the burial space, subject to the written consent or instructions of the holder. Any transfer of easement by the holder or his heirs must be approved by and recorded in the Cemetery office.
In cases where the easement rights holder lives in another city, permission for an interment on the lot may be given over the telephone, by fax, or by email. This is permitted to avoid undue hardship to the holder. However, the Cemetery will not accept responsibility for any errors that occur as a result of such communications. A burial will not be considered complete and valid until the holder follows the communication with written permission for the interment.
In the event of death of an easement rights holder any and all privileges of the holder shall pass to the holder’s family in the following manner.
- The spouse of a holder of any burial spaces containing more than one interment space has a vested right of interment of his/ her remains in one of the burial spaces.
- If the holder shall have filed written instructions that are legally sufficient at the Cemetery office as to which member or members of his/her family shall succeed to the easement rights of the burial spaces, the instructions will be recognized by the Management and will be followed if in the judgement of the Management such instructions are definite, reasonable and practicable, subject however to a vested right of interment of the surviving spouse.
- If no valid or legally sufficient written instructions shall have been filed in the office or if valid and legally sufficient instructions are in conflict with a later will and the holder has left instructions in the will, duly admitted to probate in a court having jurisdiction thereof, subject, however, to a vested right of interment of a surviving spouse, such instructions shall control provided they are not in conflict with the Cemetery rules and regulations then in force and provided the Cemetery Office is furnished with proof of the same.
- In the absence of valid and legally sufficient written instructions filed at the office by the holder or a duly probated will, the rights of interment shall devolve upon those entitled to succeed thereto by the laws of succession of the State of Ohio.
- In a conveyance to two or more persons as joint tenants, each joint tenant has a vested easement right of interment in the burial space conveyed. Upon the death of a joint tenant, the title to the burial space held in joint tenancy immediately vests in the survivors, subject to the vested right of interment of the remains of the deceased joint tenant.
- A vested right of interment may be waived and is terminated upon the interment elsewhere of the remains of the person vested.
- An affidavit by a person having knowledge of the facts setting forth the fact of the death of the holder and the name of the person or persons entitled to the use of the burial spaces is complete authorization to the Management to permit the use of the unoccupied portion of the burial spaces by the person entitled to the use of them.
- An affidavit by any person having knowledge of the facts setting forth the fact of the death of one joint tenant and establishing the identity of the surviving joint tenants named in the easement papers to any burial spaces filed with the Management is complete authorization to the unoccupied portion of the burial spaces in accordance with the direction of the surviving joint tenants or their successors in interest.
Burial spaces may be returned to the Cemetery under the following conditions.
- Proper notarized statements to show proof of easement rights must be submitted to the Cemetery Office. These forms are supplied by the Catholic Cemeteries Office.
- Grave speculation, that is the resale of grave space for profit, is not permitted.
The Management reserves the right to require any written instructions or permits from the easement rights holder or the holder’s rightful heirs to be notarized.
Service Charges and Payments
The Management shall have the right to establish a charge and time of payment for each interment, disinterment, removal, easement transfer or return, and for the performance of any other service rendered by the Management, and all work in connection with such service as shall be subject to the determination and supervision of the Management.
Any indebtedness due for work performed on burial spaces must be paid before an interment in the burial spaces may be made, or before any memorial may be erected, unless otherwise approved by the Management.
Right to Replat
The following rights and privileges are hereby expressly reserved to the Management to be exercised at any time for the erection of buildings, or for any purposes or use connected with, incident to, or convenient for, the care of, preservation of, or preparation for the disposal or interment of, human dead bodies or other Cemetery purposes:
- To resurvey, enlarge, diminish, replat, alter in shape or size, or otherwise to change all or any part or portion of the Cemetery.
- To lay out, establish, close, eliminate, or otherwise modify or change the location of roads, walks or drives, provided that ingress and egress to and from any burial space is preserved or is allocated to the easement rights holder.
The following rights and privileges are hereby expressly reserved to the Management, to be exercised at any time:
- Easements and rights of way over and through all of the Cemetery premises for the purpose of installing, maintaining and operating pipelines, conduits, or drains for sprinklers, drainage, electric or communication lines or for any other Cemetery purpose.
No Easement Rights
No easement or right of interment is granted to any easement right holder in any road, drive or walk within the Cemetery, but roads, drives or walks may be used as a means of access to the Cemetery and its buildings as long as the Management devotes roads, drives or walks for that purpose.
Use of Cemetery
VISITORS - Visitors within the Cemetery shall use the avenues, roads, and walkways, unless it is necessary to walk on the grass to gain access to the burial space. The Management expressly disclaims liability for any injuries sustained by anyone not using the most direct route of access to the grave.
STRANGERS - Strangers are not permitted to sit or lounge on any of the grounds, graves, or monuments in any Cemetery, or in any of the buildings.
TRESPASSERS - Only the easement right holder and their relatives or friends shall be permitted on the Cemetery burial space. Any other person thereon shall be considered a trespasser, and the Management shall owe no duty to said trespasser to keep the property, or the memorial thereon, in a reasonable safe condition.
CHILDREN - Children under fifteen years of age are not permitted within the Cemetery unless accompanied by adults responsible for them.
ANIMALS - Animals shall not be allowed in the Cemetery sections or in any Cemetery buildings.
LAWNS - Lawns shall not be disturbed for any purpose except under the supervision of the Management.
MOTOR VEHICLES - Automobiles, funeral coaches, and trucks must be kept under control at all times and at no time shall such vehicle drive through the gates or within the Cemetery at a speed in excess of 15 miles per hour. Automobiles are not permitted to park or come to a full stop in front of an open grave unless such automobiles are in attendance at the burial. It is prohibited to park or leave any motor vehicle on any road or driveway within the Cemetery at a location or in a position as to prevent any other vehicle from passing, and if so parked or left, the Management may remove the vehicle. No vehicle or part of a vehicle may be parked on the grass at any time.
BICYCLES, MOTORCYCLES AND SNOWMOBILES - The Management reserves the right to refuse admission to the Cemetery of bicycles or motorcycles. Snowmobiles are not permitted to be in the Cemetery.
Conduct in Cemetery
PERSONAL CONDUCT - Idling, loafing, loitering, or any boisterous demonstrations within the Cemetery or any of its buildings are prohibited.
RUBBISH - Throwing of rubbish on roads, driveways, paths, walks, or any part of the grounds or in the buildings is prohibited. Receptacles for waste material are located at convenient places.
PICNICKING - Picnicking by visitors within the Cemetery is prohibited.
DRUGS AND ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES - Non-prescription drugs and alcoholic beverages are not permitted within the Cemetery.
FLOWERS AND SHRUBS - No one shall pick any flowers or break any branches or remove, injure, or cut any tree, plant or shrub without specific permission of the Management.
PEDDLING OR SOLICITING - No one shall be permitted to peddle flowers, plants or any other article or item, or to solicit the sale of any commodity, or solicit signatures for any petitions whatever within the Cemetery unless authorized in writing by the Management and under its direct supervision.
SIGNS AND ADVERTISING - No signs, notices or advertising of any kind shall be allowed within the Cemetery except those placed by the Management.
IMPROPER ASSEMBLAGES - The Management reserves the right to forbid and prevent assemblages which it deems improper.
Grading and Improvements
All gradings, landscaping and improvements of the Cemetery will be made by the Management. Planting of flowers by easement rights holders is permitted according to the type of easement rights purchased. Certain types of flowers and shrubs are not appropriate and may be dangerous or a maintenance hazard when planted on the burial space: e. g. rose bushes, ivy of any kind, oaks, blue spruces, etc. It is the holder’s responsibility to consult the Cemetery Office before planting.
Any flowers and shrubs planted not in accordance with the easement rights purchased will be removed. The easement rights holder will be notified at his last recorded address at the office of any overgrown flowers or shrubs. If the holder fails to correct the conditions within two weeks, the Cemetery will remove the flowers and shrubs at the expense of the holder.
The Management reserves the right to use legally approved chemical applications to beautify the Cemetery properties.
Cemetery Hours
The Management shall have the right to establish the opening and closing hours of the Cemetery, Cemetery Office and buildings.
CEMETERY HOURS
St. Joseph, Resurrection, and Holy Cross — 8:00 A.M. - SUNSET
Mt. Calvary — 8:00 A.M. - 4:30 P.M.
OFFICE HOURS
Monday through Friday — 8:30 A.M.- 4: 00 P. M.
Saturday — 8:00 A.M. - Noon
THE CEMETERY OFFICE WILL BE CLOSED ON THE FOLLOWING DAYS:
SUNDAYS, NEW YEARS DAY, INDEPENDENCE DAY (JULY 4), LABOR DAY, THANKSGIVING, CHRISTMAS DAY
SPECIAL DAYS
Memorial Day - Mass Services
Cemetery Sunday - Prayer Service
Services will be held in the cemetery on each of these days.
Dates and times for these services will be announced in The Catholic Times.
Outside Worker
No workmen other than employees of the Management will be permitted to work in the Cemetery unless authorized in writing by the Management. However, easement right holders may have certain work done in accordance with Cemetery rules and regulations at their own expense upon application to the Management. Outside workers must provide proof of worker’s compensation and liability insurance and post a surety bond before beginning any work on the Cemetery property and must notify the office when on the property.
Employees
Cemetery employees are not permitted to do any work for easement rights holders, except upon the order of the Management, but are required to be courteous to all visitors.
The Management shall have the right to maintain guards if in its discretion it deems it necessary, but is under no legal obligation to do so.
Loss or Damage
The Management disclaims all responsibility for loss or damage from causes beyond its reasonable control, and especially from damage by an act of God, the elements, earthquakes, war, common enemy, air raids, invasions, insurrections, riots, order of any military or civil authority, thieves, vandalism, malicious mischief, explosions, unavoidable accidents, or any cause similar or dissimilar beyond the control of the Management whether the damage be direct or collateral. In the event it becomes necessary to reconstruct or repair any section of a burial space, including graves or crypts or niches or any portion or portions thereof in the Cemetery, which has been damaged by such causes, the Management shall give a two (2) week written notice of the necessity for such repairs to the easement right holder of record. The notice shall be given by depositing the same in the United States mail, with postage prepaid, addressed to the easement rights holder of record at his or her address stated on the records of the Management.
In the event the easement right holder fails to repair the damage or notify the office within two (2) weeks of specific plans to repair the damage, the Management may direct that the repairs be made and charge the expense against the burial site and to the easement right holder of record.
Easement rights holders are advised that memorials and personal mausoleums are not Cemetery property, but remain the personal property of the holder. Therefore, these items should be insured through the holder’s homeowners insurance policy.
Easement Rights Holder's Change of Address
It shall be the duty of the easement rights holder to notify the Management of any change in his post office address. Notice sent to a holder at the last address in the Management’s records shall be considered sufficient and proper legal notification.
Care
“Care” is to be understood as that care and maintenance necessitated by natural growth of grass and trees or shrubs owned by the Cemetery, and includes planting, cutting, and care of lawns, trees, and shrubs and the cleaning and maintenance of roadways and walks.
The term “Care” shall in no case mean the maintenance, repair or replacement of any memorial placed or erected upon any burial space, nor the planting of flowers or ornamental plants; nor does it mean the reconstruction of any marker, granite, bronze or concrete on any burial space or any damage beyond the Management’s reasonable control.
Special care shall include only those specific services set forth in Special Care agreements with the easement rights holders, provided the services are not inconsistent with the purpose for which the Cemetery was established or is being maintained.
Memorials and Rules for Memorial Work
Memorial dealers shall abide by all the rules and regulations of the Cemetery.
The Management reserves the right at all times to approve and prescribe the type, size, design, symbolism, craftsmanship, quality, and material of memorials, inscriptions, monuments, or markers placed or to be placed in the Cemetery. All memorials are subject to the approval of the Management prior to the placement, and acceptance or rejection shall be based upon such approval.
The Management also reserves the right to issue under separate cover detailed regulations and instructions pertaining to the type, size, quality and material of memorials, inscriptions, monuments, or markers to be placed in the Cemetery. Those detailed regulations and instructions and all amendments are hereby made a part of these rules and regulations.
The Management reserves the right to establish the days and hours when a permit may be obtained and when any memorial may be delivered to the Cemetery.
All memorial work, or placement or removal of any memorial shall be on the written order of the easement rights holder, or by a person or persons who are legally authorized to make such decisions and with a permit issued by the Management.
When the Management installs a foundation, it reserves the right to fix charges for memorial foundations, memorial permits, placements or removals, and the right to demand that the charges be paid in advance and before the work is done. The Management also reserves the right to charge a fee for any memorial left at the Cemetery before a Cemetery permit has been issued.
A detailed plan and design of all memorials drawn on the Cemetery application form or attached to it, must be submitted to the Management for approval before a permit will be issued, and no memorial shall be erected until checked, approved and accepted by the Management. If the memorial does not conform in every detail to the approved design, it shall be the sole responsibility of the dealer to return the memorial to his own place of business and to correct any errors or deficiencies in workmanship and material.
The location and position in which a memorial is to be placed or erected on a burial space shall be entirely subject to the approval and under the supervision of the Management.
No monument extending above the surface of the ground shall be erected on burial spaces not specifically set apart for such monument privilege.
Each burial space shall be permitted only one specific form of memorialization. Government provided markers and markers for second burials may be placed at the foot of same grave
Non-Cemetery employees, in placing or erecting monuments and other structures, or bringing in materials in regard to such work, shall operate as independent contractors, but must do so under permission from the Management, and under its supervision. Non-Cemetery employees must provide proof of workman’s compensation and liability insurance and post a surety bond before beginning any work on the Cemetery property and must notify the office when on the property.
Non-Cemetery workers engaged in placing or erecting monuments or other structures are prohibited from scattering their material over adjoining burial spaces, or from blocking roads, or walks, or from leaving their material on the grounds longer than is absolutely necessary.
The Management reserves the right to stop all work of any nature, whenever, in its opinion, proper preparations have not been made; or when work is being don in such a manner as to endanger life or property; or when there is evidence of misrepresentation; or when work is not being executed according to specifications; or when any reasonable request on the part of the Management is disregarded; or when any person employed on the work violates any rule of the Management; or in the presence of a funeral.
While the Management will exercise all possible care to protect raised lettering, carving, or ornaments on any memorial or other structure on any burial spaces, it disclaims responsibility for damage or injury beyond its reasonable control.
The Management reserves, and shall have, the right to correct any error that may be made by its employees in the location or placing of a memorial in the Cemetery.
Should any memorial, mausoleum or tomb become unsightly, dilapidated, or a menace to the safety of persons within the Cemetery, the Management shall have the right to correct the condition or to remove the same, without prior notice if the Management deems necessary, in either case at the expense of the easement rights holder.
Soliciting memorial sales or memorial work within the Cemetery is not permitted.
All memorials installed in the Catholic Cemeteries of Columbus must have a Christian symbol (cross, prayer, etc.) taken from the Bible, Mass Prayers, or book of religious symbols.
Duplicates of an older foot marker, as long as it is not marble, on the same family burial place are permitted even if they do not meet current design specifications, as long as the design is not inappropriate to Christian teachings, or contrary to the sacred scriptures.
Nicknames, when placed as a middle name, are permitted on memorials. Management reserves the right to determine the acceptability of nicknames, and the design of their placement on the memorial.
When the first name of a person appears to be a nickname, a Baptismal certificate, a Birth certificate or legal document may be required for verification of the acceptability of the name.
Colored stone, artificially, or with the use of chips or glass is forbidden in the Cemetery.
Portrait style etchings and porcelain photos are permitted on markers or monuments. Management must approve all portrait designs.
The size of any memorial monument or marker will be decided by the Management. Each section may have different size burial spaces, and may not physically allow certain size memorials.
While bronze designs may be permitted on some granite monuments, the Management discourages such designs because they tend to discolor with age and affect the color of the stone below the design.
Easement rights holders are advised that memorials are not Cemetery property, but remain the personal property of the holder. Therefore, the memorial should be insured through the holder’s homeowners insurance policy.
Mausoleums and Tombs
Mausoleums or tombs either wholly or partially above ground shall be constructed only on locations so designated. Plans, specifications, material and location in the Cemetery of such mausoleum or tomb shall be subject to the approval of the Management.
When entombment is made in a private mausoleum, the crypt shall be properly sealed as directed by the Management. The Management shall be in possession of a key to any private mausoleum. Private mausoleums should be insured through the holder’s homeowners insurance policy.
All above-ground burials must be embalmed and a metal or fiberglass casket is required. Secondary containment items will be used.
These rules and regulations shall apply to any mausoleum now in existence or which may hereafter be erected in the Cemetery.
In General
The statement of any employee of the Management shall not be binding upon the Management except as such statement coincides with the document conveying the right of interment and these rules and regulations.
The Management reserves the right, without notice, to make temporary exceptions, suspensions or modifications in any of these rules or regulations when, in its judgement, the same appear advisable and such temporary exceptions, suspension or modification shall in no way be considered as affecting the general application of such rule.
In all matters not specifically covered by these rules and regulations the Management reserves the right to do anything which in its judgement is deemed reasonable, and consistent with the welfare of all easement rights holders, and such determination shall be binding upon the holder and all parties concerned.
The Management reserves the right at any time to change, amend, alter, repeal, rescind or add to these rules and regulations or any part thereof or to adopt any new rule or regulation with respect to the Cemetery or anything pertaining thereto.
From time to time as current rules and regulations may be amended or deleted, or as new rules and regulations may be added, they will be published in the Diocesan newspaper. Such publication shall constitute the promulgation of new rules and regulations and will be binding upon all easement rights holders and visitors to the Cemetery effective on the date of publication.
Shrubbery Planting
Dwarf shrubbery planting is permitted in some sections on MONUMENT LOTS ONLY, if the monument has been placed. Dwarf shrubbery, if permitted, must be set by the Cemetery or a qualified nursery with the permission of the Management. The Cemetery will charge a fee for planting shrubbery. Shrubs of any kind with thorns are not permitted. Consult the office for additional information.
Shrubbery Trimming and Removal
The Cemetery will set the fees for trimming or removing shrubs owned by the easement rights holders. Only the Cemetery may remove the shrubs. In cases where in the judgement of the Management, neglected or overgrown shrubs need to be removed, notice will be mailed to the holder at the last address recorded in the Cemetery records. If the holder does not make arrangements within two (2) weeks for the removal of the shrubs, the Cemetery will proceed with the removal and bill the holder
Flower Planting
Flowers may be planted on MONUMENT LOTS ONLY, as stated on the invoice. These may be placed on the front side of the monument, the length of the face of the monument and may extend out no more than ten inches. No flowers or plantings may be extended along the sides or rear of the monument. The Cemetery is not responsible for flowers whether planted or placed on the burial space.
Plants of any kind with thorns are not permitted. In cases where in the judgement of the Management, neglected or overgrown flower beds need to be trimmed or removed, the Cemetery will proceed with the trimming or removal and bill the easement rights holder, if necessary.
Votive Candles and Lighting
Votive candles, battery operated candles and solar lights are not permitted on graves.
Potted Plants
Potted plants are permitted only on certain days: Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Memorial Day, Cemetery Sunday and All Soul’s Day. These will be left on until the Monday after the following weekend.
Cut Flowers
Permanent flower vases are recommended for cut flowers. Any other kind of container must be set on the grave, never buried in the ground. Glass or breakable containers are not permitted. There is absolutely no planting allowed on lawn level or 8 inch marker burial spaces.
Artificial Flowers
Artificial flowers, wreathes, blankets, etc. are permitted during the winter months only: November 1 to March 1. They will then be removed by the Cemetery in order to prepare for grass cutting season.
American Flags
American Flags are permitted on Memorial Day, July 4, and Veteran’s Day.
Mulch & Edging
Cypress mulch is permitted in the planting area of monument lots only. Coarse bark, rocks or stone chips, gravel, border edging, fencing, or ground cover are not permitted.