"St. Peter's Parish Cemetery Committee recommends in its guidelines that a common burial date be the third Saturday in May (May 18, 2024) for those persons whose remains or cremains have been kept in a crypt during the winter months. To select a grave plot and arrange to have the grave dug the family of the deceased can contact Hugh John Beaton (787-2322). The burial practice that has been established for the parish is to have the grave dug and remains interred on Thursday, May 16th., 2024 and Friday, May 17th., 2024. The Saturday mass will be celebrated at 10:30 AM and the parish priest will then go to the cemetery to say memorial prayers and bless each gravesite. Under special circumstances, if a family wishes to make alternate arrangements, contact the parish priest."
Our faith reminds us of the dignity and respect that must be accorded the body, even in death. One of the corporal works of mercy is to bury the dead. With this in mind, the Cemetery Committee of St. Peter’s Parish, Port Hood, at a meeting dated December 2, 2011, revised an earlier set of guidelines and approved them for the proper care and maintenance of the cemetery.
1. When a burial is to take place, contact is to be made as soon as possible with Hugh John Beaton (787-2322), to have a plot assigned and arrange for grave digging.
2. Normally, a burial plot consists of either one or two grave spaces.
3. Mr. Glen O'Connor is the only person authorized by the parish to dig graves in this cemetery.
4. For the maintenance of the cemetery, it would be much appreciated if gravel, fences, planted flowers, bushes or anything else NOT be placed around the headstones; such things make mowing more difficult. Solar lights are to be placed adjacent to and beside a tombstone.
5. All graves and plots will be maintained at the same height (in a straight line).
6. There must be 61 cm. (24 inches) left between each grave.
7. The placement of headstones and maintenance is the responsibility of the family.
8. Cremains are to be properly buried in the cemetery. Please contact the Parish Priest for the accompanying cemetery service.
9. While there is no charge for the cemetery plots for parishoners, donations to the Cemetery Fund are very much appreciated.
10. "Because of issues of frost,snow and wet soil, it is difficult to bury remains in the late fall, winter and early spring. A cut off date for machine-dug burials is set at October 31. (Between November 1 and November 30, and between April 1 and April 30, a grave may be dug by hand.) After the October 31 date, the remains will be placed in the nearest available vault until such time as the burial can take place. The Funeral Director will see to this. The cemetery will re-open for regular burials after April 30."
11. Cremains may be buried in the cemetery following the funeral liturgy at any time of the year, based on the discretion of the family.
12. The remains and
cremains which have been stored in a vault for later burial shall
be interred, if possible, at a common date which
will normally be
the third Saturday in May.
13. It must be remembered that all cemetery property, including plots, legally belong to St. Peter’s Parish and the Diocese of Antigonish.
14. If an assigned plot location is not accepted then a $500. fee is charged for a new location.
NEW!!! 15. For the burial of persons who are not regular parishoners of St. Peter's Parish, a donation to the parish for the use of the church and facilities will be appreciated, as well as a stipend for the officiating priest.
CEMETERY BURIALS FOR NON-PARISHONERS ~ (revised December 10th., 2019)
The Pastoral Council of St. Peter's Parish at a 10 December , 2019, meeting revised the earlier 2012 guidelines to read as follows. A fee of $500. will be charged per plot for the burial of a person who is not a parishioner. Cremains of a non-parishioner buried within an existing plot will be charged $300 if the family intends to erect a tombstone. A parishioner is someone who is issued church envelopes. If these have not been used within three years to make a minimum contribution of $300 toward parish upkeep the $500 plot fee will be charged. Multiple burial of cremains in one plot will affect the choice of tombstone or tombstones sizes.
If a plot is purchased as many as six cremains may be interred within the plot. Husband and wife are covered in the plot price. A $200. fee will be charged for each additional burial of a cremains in that plot.
St. Peter's Parish Cemetery
Committee (2023) : Colleen MacLeod, Martha Gillis, Hugh John Beaton, Bernie Gillies, John
Gillies & Rev. Sunny Kalampanathadathil, Parish Priest.