Church visitors transported to Biblical times in tomb experience

Every Catholic has thought about what it must have been like to witness the miracle of Christ’s resurrection. But visitors of Holy Rosary Roman Catholic Church in Jersey City don’t need to use their imaginations. Instead, they can experience that feeling for themselves thanks to a life-sized recreation of Jesus’ tomb they can walk through inside the church.

All are invited to step inside the tomb to experience the emptiness of the tomb and reflect upon the significance of Jesus’ resurrection.

“People like things they can feel and touch and see,” Father Jerzy (Jurek) Zaslona, the pastor of Holy Rosary, said. “And it’s more dramatic. The more dramatic, the better it is.”

Visitors are welcome to experience the tomb, which is made out of wood and construction paper, resembling the rough-hewn stone, now through the end of the Easter Season, Pentecost Sunday, May 23.

The tomb has certainly become a beloved tradition among the Holy Rosary congregation since it was introduced nearly a decade ago. The tomb is erected just before Holy Week each year. At the end of the Good Friday Liturgy, the lifeless body of Jesus, together with the statues of the Sorrowful Mother, John the Beloved Disciple, and Mary Magdalene are carried to the tomb in a procession throughout the church while a traditional, sorrowful Italian hymn is sung with dimmed lights, candles, and incense. After the body of Jesus is placed in the tomb, people have an opportunity to enter the tomb and experience the tragedy of Jesus’s death. The church is open for some time allowing visitors to come and adore Jesus in the tomb.

On Holy Saturday the dead body of Jesus and the other statues are removed, leaving just the shroud and small cloth that was on the Lord’s head. Above the tomb stands the cross that was venerated on Good Friday and a statue of the Risen Lord. After that, parishioners and visitors alike are welcome to enter the empty tomb throughout the Easter season.

Many do so, Father Jerzy said, and their feedback is overwhelmingly positive.

“People really love it,” he said. “One woman said she’s never experienced something so beautiful.”

But everyone who enters the tomb connects with it differently. According to Father Jerzy, some leave the experience with their faith strengthened. Others come out feeling less afraid of dying, having been reminded they too will be resurrected in Heaven.

Parishioner Elizabeth Mejia recalls being “awestruck” the first time she entered the tomb. Joking that she doubts she and her seven children will make it to Israel anytime soon, Mejia said Holy Rosary’s recreation is an adequate substitute because it is a sensory experience unlike any other. From smelling the incense in the air to hearing the solemn quiet of the empty space to seeing Jesus’ statue standing majestically above it all, she said visitors are transported to a different time and place.

“It actually feels like you’re there,” Mejia said. “It’s visceral. And then you see Jesus standing on top, and it’s like ‘He has risen!’ You really feel the joy of Easter.”

Virginia Hartley didn’t know what she’d feel upon entering the tomb for the first time this year, but the parishioner never expected to be as deeply impacted as she was. Though she always believed in the resurrection, she said seeing the discarded items like Christ’s shroud scattered throughout the space really resonated with her. To her, they became tangible evidence Jesus had once left his worldly possessions behind to rise again.

“It was a confirmation, for me, about my faith,” Hartley said. “I have my scientific mind, and I also have my heart and my soul and my emotions. But in the tomb, they all came together because I just knew the resurrection was true in that moment.”

Father Jerzy is glad his parishioners connect so much with the church and the tomb. He hopes people who are struggling will visit the tomb and take inspiration from its meaning. Everyone has their problems, he acknowledged, and some may think their obstacles are too great to overcome. But as Father Jerzy pointed out, the miracle of Jesus’ resurrection demonstrates that one should never give up.

“Sometimes we have to go to the empty tomb to see the impossible is possible,” Father Jerzy said. “With the grace of God, everything is possible.”

Holy Rosary’s walk-through tomb is open every day from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Those who wish to learn more should call 201-795-0120.