St. Mary Cemetery Rules and Regulations for the Garden of Remembrance Columbarium Niches

Each columbarium niche can hold either 1 (one) or 2 (two) cremains.

Each columbarium niche will be assigned a specific number and the purchaser will be given a Certificate with the names of the purchaser, date of purchase, cost of purchase and niche number associated with that Certificate.  Records of each purchase will be held in St. Mary’s Finance Office as well as with Joseph Spencer, St. Mary’s Cemetery Superintendent.

Niches in the Garden of Remembrance are solely for the inurnment of cremated human remains. Other uses of these spaces are prohibited.

It is the responsibility of the family, or other responsible party, to pay for and provide urns for interment. The urns must be sized to fit into the Niche, which is 12 inches tall, by 12 inches wide, by 13 inches deep. The urn shall be capable of withstanding the elements and shall be suitable for removal and transportation in the event such removal and transportation becomes advisable or necessary.

No object of any description shall be placed in a columbarium niche except an urn or approved receptacle containing ashes.

No niche cover may be used in the columbarium other than those supplied by the Church. The engraving on niche covers shall be performed solely by one company and a uniform design, style, and size of engraving shall be used on all niche covers.  The inscription shall be limited to the name, date of birth and date of death of the deceased. Forms will be provided to you to fill out and then forwarded to the monument company.  Niches containing the remains of two persons will be inscribed with such information for both persons. If one, or both, of the interred is a United States Military Veteran the branch of the service that they were in may be added to the niche cover.  No other inscriptions will be permitted. No titles or fraternal emblems are permitted.   The monument companies contact information will be provided by Joseph Spencer, St. Mary’s Cemetery Superintendent, upon request.  Kindly call the office at 508-528-0020, Monday-Thursday between 9:00am-3:00pm, for Mr. Spencer’s contact information.

No flowers, plants or other decorations shall be placed in Garden of Remembrance and columbarium area except during the internment ceremony.  All flowers, etc will be removed immediately following the ceremony.  No floral memorials or other ornamentation shall be attached to any wall or structure in the Garden of Remembrance and columbarium. The Church shall have the right to remove any such ornamentation or correct any such alteration at the expense of the Purchaser.

No urn containing ashes shall be removed from a space except by, and with the prior written consent of, the Pastor.

No right whatsoever shall exist in the heirs-at-law of the purchaser, designee or successor-in-interest to have any ashes removed. All removals and disinurnments shall be done by or under the supervision of the Church’s personnel. The Church will exercise care in making any removal, but shall have no liability whatsoever for damage to any urn or its contents occurring in the process of making a removal.

The Church, and all those acting on behalf of the Church, shall not be responsible, or liable, for the identification or misidentification of the cremated remains of any person. The family of the deceased shall be responsible for seeing to it that before inurnment in the columbarium all urns presented for inurnment in the columbarium shall be permanently marked with the name of the deceased and date of death.

In the event that the Pastor deems it is advisable to temporarily remove an urn or ashes for any purpose, he may do so in his sole discretion and will make reasonable efforts to arrange for the safekeeping of the removed urn or ashes until the same is replaced in an appropriate space.

In the event that the columbarium require repairs as determined by the Pastor or the Cemetery Caretaker, the temporary removal of any cremated remains in any assigned niche until those repairs are completed shall be permitted without the requirement of the prior consent of the holder.

Notwithstanding any provision herein to the contrary, the holder acquires no property rights in the columbarium, any of its niches or any other property of the Church. Legal title to the columbarium, all assigned niches and all other niches remain with the Church at all times. The Certificate attests only to the right to inurn the cremated remains of the eligible persons named on the certificate in the assigned niche and shall constitute only a license to use such assigned niche pursuant to these Rules and Regulations.