Cemetery Maintenance

Management seeks to maintain the diocesan cemeteries in a fashion that reflects the church's teachings about the dignity of every human person. To that end, the Diocese of Springfield maintains a Cemetery Trust Fund.

The Trust Fund enables the hired staff to maintain the diocesan cemeteries to a uniform standard. Staff responsibilities include the regular mowing of grass, trimming around monuments and memorials, fertilization and weed control.

The Trust Fund also enables the cemetery to seed new graves, repair older graves, level flush memorials, and repair monument foundations as required. Employees will water newly seeded areas to encourage growth of grass. For reasons of uniform beauty as well as safety and insurance concerns, only employees may cut, fertilize, and add chemicals to the landscape.

Shrubbery:

Cemetery management cannot control growth and assure pruning or removal when shrubbery grows too large. For these reasons, no new shrubbery is permitted in the diocesan or diocesan-maintained cemeteries. As existing shrubbery overshadows names on monuments, families will be notified. When families cannot be contacted, items will be tagged for removal before Memorial Day.

Time will be allowed for families to contact the cemetery office; if responsible parties have not responded by October first, overgrown items will be documented by photographs and removed before winter.

Water:

During all but freezing months, water outlets operate in the cemeteries where available to enable families to tend to the flowers and plants placed at graves. Outlets are not intended for lawn sprinkling devices; when found, these will be removed. Handouts detailing the location of water outlets and small containers are provided.

Trash Containers:

Units are placed along the roadways. Cooperation is asked in using these containers for cemetery refuse.

American Flags

fly in each of the cemeteries to honor those who served in the armed forces of the United States. At specified times small flags are placed at veterans' graves to recognize their service.

The Springfield Diocesan Cemeteries Rules and Regulations encompass Floral Tributes, Clean Up Schedules, Cemetery Maintenance and Monument and Flush Memorial regulations.