Mausoleum’s first-ever Stations of the Cross service brings visitors to tears
Gate of Heaven Cemetery’s Chapel Mausoleum of the Resurrection offered a first-ever Stations of the Cross service, featuring a striking two-story resurrection mosaic and 14 handcrafted wooden Stations of the Cross statues that evoked the suffering of the Messiah before and during his crucifixion.
Father Paul Houlis, the cemetery chaplain, led the April 5 service, drawing parallels between Christ’s path of suffering and how Jesus walks with mourners.
Houlis explained, “So, we’re doing the stations, literally walking with Him [Christ] on His Via Dolorosa, the Way of the Cross, in a place that is a place of suffering for many people, but we’re reminded that the tomb is not the end, the resurrection is – and not just for Him, but for their loved ones too.”
The Stations of the Cross, a traditional Catholic devotion, dates to Christian pilgrims in the Middle Ages visiting holy sites in Jerusalem associated with Jesus’ passion and death. As the number of pilgrims grew, replicas of these sites were created in churches and homes. The devotion spread throughout the Catholic Church and remains a popular way to meditate on the passion and death of Jesus Christ, especially during the season of Lent, typically involving prayer, reflection, and sometimes the singing of hymns, according to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The Tyrol, Austria-made Stations of the Cross sculptures, saved from St. Peter’s Church, built in Newark, N.J., around 1860, are now a focal point for 14 cremation niche stations and provide a spiritually immersive prayer experience and meditation in the Chapel Mausoleum of the Resurrection.
James Mesce and his family found the prayer service a perfect way to connect with Jesus before the Easter Triduum. His wife, Linda Mesce, prayed for her father, interred in the mausoleum, and the children they are raising together.
Pasqualina Manetta, Linda’s mother, who has visited her husband’s resting place at the mausoleum for the last 27 years, shared how their love story that started in Italy will culminate in their final reunion.
“This [mausoleum] is my home,” said Manetta emotionally, recalling how she lived in a convent before she met her husband, and they have been inseparable ever since. “He [husband] made a space for me so when he comes back, he can talk to me – side by side.”
Stations of the Cross services were also held at Holy Cross Cemetery and Mausoleum in North Arlington, led by its chaplain, Father Michael Barone, and at Saint Gertrude Cemetery and Mausoleum, Colonia, led by its chaplain, Father Dave Sison.
All three locations are operated by Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Newark. To learn more, go to www.rcancem.org.
Gate of Heaven Cemetery and Mausoleum is at 225 Ridgedale Avenue, East Hanover, NJ. To learn more, go to www.GateofHeavenCemetery.org or send an email to cemetery@rcan.org.
Featured image: After the Stations of the Cross service, Fr. Houlis pointed out that the stations led to the Resurrection and that without His rising from the dead, the suffering would have been meaningless. He then blessed everyone in front of the Resurrection Mosaic.
Photos by Maxim Almenas
