Prince of Peace Mausoleum is dedicated on All Souls Day
St. Malachy parishioners Cathy and Robert Weidenbener of Brownsburg light their candles during the All Souls Day Mass celebrated by Msgr. Joseph F. Schaedel, vicar general, on Nov. 2 at the Our Lady of Peace Mausoleum Chapel in Indianapolis.
By Mary Ann Wyand
Purgatory is a sign of God’s boundless mercy, Msgr. Joseph F. Schaedel, vicar general, assured Catholics attending the All Souls Day Mass on Nov. 2 at the Our Lady of Peace Mausoleum Chapel in Indianapolis.
“So many of those who have died listen for our prayers,” Msgr. Schaedel said in his homily. “We call them the souls of purgatory—the holy souls, the poor souls. The Church teaches that when we leave this world we may not be fully prepared to see God in the next. Nothing impure enters heaven. We need further purification, and we call the process purgatory. Many souls need final purification.”
God offers us his love, mercy and grace even after we are dead, the vicar general explained, and even though we may not deserve it at the time of death.
Through the process of purgatory, he said, we can be purified and prepared to meet God in the heavenly kingdom.
“We find evidence for this in Scripture, especially in the [second] Book of Maccabees, St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians and the First Letter of St. Peter,” Msgr. Schaedel said. “It’s the constant teaching of the Church. We know that those souls in purgatory cannot pray for themselves. … They depend solely upon our prayers, our sacrifices, our good works. We alone are the ones who can hasten their purification and their entrance into heaven.”
On the feast of All Souls, he said, Catholics are asked to pray particularly for those poor souls who have no one to pray for them and plead for our prayers.
“The holy souls who have gone before us listen for our prayers,” Msgr. Schaedel said. “Someday … we may be listening, too. We may be begging for the prayers of those on Earth and those in heaven. Pray for the souls of the faithful departed, particularly the poor souls who have no one else to pray for them. One day, when they have come into the kingdom, we may be asking them for the very same favor.”
After leading a candlelight procession from the Our Lady of Peace Mausoleum Chapel to the new Prince of Peace Mausoleum nearby, Msgr. Schaedel blessed and dedicated the nearly completed building for
above-ground entombment.
“We pray that God will welcome all who will rest in this place to the kingdom of his saints,” he said. “Bless [those] who will turn to you in their need, and give them peace, for you are the Prince of Peace.”
Standing in the atrium of the new mausoleum, the vicar general explained before the blessing that a large fountain will feature a sculpture symbolizing baptism and provide a peaceful experience for visitors.
“The symbol of baptism, when we are claimed by Christ forever, will be at the entrance to the mausoleum,” Msgr. Schaedel said. “Once Christ claims you [in baptism], that is permanent, that is forever, [which is] comforting to know.
“… Through the intercession of St. Joseph, patron of the dying and patron of a happy death,” he said, “give the grace of repentance and peace to those who will die this day and to all persons who will be buried here in the future.”
Don Masten, manager of Our Lady of Peace Cemetery, said after the dedication that the Prince of Peace Mausoleum is being constructed in two phases.
“Phase One, which is about
two-thirds of the mausoleum, will house 650 casket spaces,” Masten said. “The second phase will have another 380 casket spaces. There will also be more than 100 cremation niche spaces in Phase One of the new mausoleum.”
Our Lady of Peace Cemetery was created on 40 acres at 9001 Haverstick Road by the Archdiocese of Indianapolis and opened in March 1996.
Since Our Lady of Peace Mausoleum was completed in September 1996, more than 90 percent of the casket spaces there have been sold.
(For more information about the new Prince of Peace Mausoleum or other interment options at Our Lady of Peace Cemetery in Indianapolis, call Don Masten at 317-574-8898.) †
