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COVID-19 News

UPDATED BURIAL PROCEDURES

Updated June 19, 2020

For the duration of the Province of Ontario's State of Emergency Declaration, The Catholic Cemeteries of the Diocese of Hamilton is changing the operating procedures at the cemeteries it operates. The following measures will be put in place:

  1. All cemeteries remain open to the public for visitations. This may change without notice.
  2. All masoleums remain closed to the public.
  3. Prayer services at burials will continue.
  4. Attendance at burials remains limited to the numbers prescribed by the Government of Ontario with some exceptions.
  5. Mausoleum attendance at entombments for non-COVID-19-related deaths is limited to a maximum of 20 people with some exceptions due to occupancy levels.
  6. Prayer services for mausoleum entombments for COVID-19-related deaths are to take place outside of the mausoleum.
  7. Flowers are not to be left at the mausoleum for entombments.
  8. No interments or entombments will take place until the family and Funeral Home staff have left the cemetery.
  9. Cemetery staff will do their best to ensure that the attendance rules are followed. Family in attendance at burials who do not follow the attendance rules outlined above, or any other part of the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA) will be responsible for the fines and penalties as stipulated. A copy of the News Release from the Government of Ontario may be found here.

These procedures will be in place during the State of Emergency. These procedures may be updated or changed without notice at any time.

We appreciate and understand what our families are dealing with at this very difficult time in their lives. It is truly unfortunate for families to have to deal with the loss of a loved one during the COVID-19 pandemic. We all pray that this State of Emergency will be over as soon as possible.

Thank you for your patience and understanding in these difficult times.

Sincerely,

THE CATHOLIC CEMETERIES OF THE DIOCESE OF HAMILTON

UPDATED COVID-19 PROTOCOLS

Updated June 19, 2020

The Catholic Cemeteries of the Diocese of Hamilton is committed to serving our families and working to ensure their health and safety. We are equally committed and focused on the health and safety of our employees. We are therefore adjusting our operations and levels of public interaction in an effort to do our part to slow the transmission of the virus. Please know that we are taking extra precautions to keep our facilities and offices sanitized. Our office remains open to serve you and your family. Please review the following information:

Safe Distance Protocol

The Catholic Cemeteries has implemented a Safe Distance Protocol. We ask that there be no physical contact such as handshakes or hugs, and our employees will observe a 6-foot distance with visitors wherever possible.

Screening

All visitors will be screened:

  1. Do you have any of these symptoms?
  • Fever
  • Cough/Sneezing
  • Difficulty Breathing/Shortness of Breath
  1. Have you travelled outside of the country within the last 14 days?
  2. Have you or any member of your immediate family been in contact with someone who has or is suspected to have COVID-19?
  3. Have you or any member of your immediate family been advised to self-isolate?
  4. Has Public Health been involved?

If a visitor answers YES to any of the above questions, we ask that they kindly return home and call us to make arrangements by alternative means (phone/email, etc.).

For All Office Appointments, Cremation and Interment Services

  • Any individual who is under self-isolation or does not pass the self-screening test is not permitted to attend any of our offices, cemeteries or mausoleum building for any reason.
  • While the outdoor cemetery grounds remain open, we recommend that visits unrelated to an interment service be avoided.
  • Our mausoleum buildings are closed for visits that are unrelated to attendance at an entombment.
  • Our reception rooms at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Burlington and Marymount Cemetery, Guelph are not available for use.
  • Office appointments appointment are available for both at-need and pre-need arrangements. Appointments are limited to two people, and all visitors must wear masks. Walk-in visits without an appointment will not be permitted.
  • Our main office at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery will be open for regular office hours, but will close at 12:00 noon at Saturdays. Appointments on Saturdays will be for at-need arrangements only.

Please be reminded of our Safe Distance Protocol to which all attendees will be required to adhere and maintain a distance of at least 6 feet from employees at all times. Immediate family viewing the closing of a grave (lowering of the casket) must return to the roadside for the health and safety of all. Families attending mausoleum entombments must exit the building immediately following the committal prayers, and may not witness the entombment process.

Interments/Entombments for COVID-19-related Deaths

  • For interment inside a mausoleum, committal services must take place outside the main doors of the mausoleum. Once the committal service is complete, the casket or urn will be left outside the entrance door. Once the family has returned to their vehicles, the cemetery staff will proceed with the entombment. For an outdoor crypt or columbarium niche, staff will complete the entombment once the family has left the vicinity of the burial space.
  • For in-ground burial, caskets will be placed into the concrete container (liner or vault) immediately upon arrival at the grave. All other protocols indicated above will be enforced.

Thank you for adhering to these protocols and for your understanding and patience during these unprecedented times. We pray for those infected with COVID-19, those caring for the sick and for one another.

COVID-19 Update

April 2, 2020

Our Director of Cemeteries has released an updated statement concerning the COVID-19 pandemic. Click here to read it.

Bereavement Authority of Ontario Directive

April 1, 2020

Please be advised the the Registrar of the Bereavement Authority of Ontario has issued a directive to coincide with direction from the Province of Ontario. Attendees at a funeral may not number more than 10, including clergy. Please visit the BAO's website for further information.

MAUSOLEUMS CLOSED TO VISITORS

March 18, 2020

In response to recommendations from the Ontario Association of Cemetery & Funeral Professionals, the Bereavement Authority of Ontario, and the Province of Ontario's State of Emergency Declaration, our mausoleum buildings are closed to visitors until further notice except for entombment services.

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