Guide can help locate Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters' graves

Suzanne Nolan Wisler, The Monroe News
·2 min read
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MONROE — 1,619 IHM Sisters are buried in the two cemeteries on the campus of Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Motherhouse on Elm Avenue. Frequently, visitors have a hard time finding a specific resting place.

So, the IHM Archives created a cemetery diagram and finding aid for the campus' St. Joseph and St. Mary cemeteries. Scott Mushing, Motherhouse maintenance employee, built a wooden box for the guides. The box was installed on the grounds of the Motherhouse campus, said Sister Margaret Chapman, IHM Leadership Council president.

Scott Mushing, maintenance employee at the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Motherhouse, built a wooden box for directories to Sisters' burial plots at the IHM cemeteries.
Scott Mushing, maintenance employee at the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Motherhouse, built a wooden box for directories to Sisters' burial plots at the IHM cemeteries.

“I can affirm that people are using the box because I have had calls and I have referred them to it," said Calley Duffey from the IHM Communications Department.

“Both the IHM Archives and the reception desk at the IHM Senior Living Community receive questions about Sisters’ grave locations from those who want to visit," said Jennifer Meacham, IHM archivist. "Sister Margaret Chapman got this whole ball rolling.”

Pages in the guide list the Sisters by their religious names and given names and their dates of death and then provide section, row and grave number. Other pages in the binder list the rows and grave numbers and then give Sisters' names and dates of death.

A sample page from the guide is shown.
A sample page from the guide is shown.

"The list of grave locations is regularly updated and checked. The diagrams were constructed by the staff of the IHM Archives over the course of about a month. The binder also includes complete lists of all deceased Sisters, one by last name and one by religious name," Meacham said.

Meacham said the IHM Archives also keeps records of burial facts. Of the 1,619 Sisters, 187 are buried in St. Joseph Cemetery. This cemetery was used from 1856-1927. The other 1,422 Sisters are buried in St. Mary Cemetery. 38 Sisters had green burials and 61 were cremated, Meacham said. The IHM congregation began in 1845.

The Crucifixion Shrine is shown in the oldest part of St. Mary Cemetery on the IHM Motherhouse campus. The shrine commemorates the death of Jesus Christ as his mother, Mary, Mary Magdalen and the apostle John wait at the foot of the cross. This section of the cemetery was opened on March 16, 1928.
The Crucifixion Shrine is shown in the oldest part of St. Mary Cemetery on the IHM Motherhouse campus. The shrine commemorates the death of Jesus Christ as his mother, Mary, Mary Magdalen and the apostle John wait at the foot of the cross. This section of the cemetery was opened on March 16, 1928.

"Only one IHM Sister is buried outside of Monroe. Sister Carmen (Philomena) Rosado is buried in her native Puerto Rico, where she died in 1997," Meacham said.

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For more information about burial locations, contact the IHM Archives at 734-240-9695 or archives@ihmsisters.org.

— Contact reporter Suzanne Nolan Wisler at swisler@monroenews.com.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Guide can help locate IHM Sisters' graves