Cemetery & Funeral Guidelines

Planning a Funeral Mass

• Funeral Liturgy Planning Sheet for St. Bridget, St. James, & St. Mary - use this to choose the readings for the Funeral Mass
• Choosing songs for the Funeral Mass - use these to choose the songs for the Funeral Mass
  • Funeral Music Guidelines - St. Bridget
  • Funeral Music Guidelines - St. James & St. Mary
    
    

St. Bridget of Kildare Cemetery
Honoring the faithful departed through sacred burial is an important part of our Catholic Faith and a manifestation of our belief in the Resurrection of the Dead. Many questions about what is or is not permitted by our Catholic Faith following death are answered here.

St. Bridget of Kildare Cemetery is operated for the religious and charitable purposes of the Catholic Church through the burial and the memorialization of the faithful departed.

The Sacred Canons of the Roman Catholic Church, the Norms of the Archdiocese of St. Louis and the policies set forth by the St. Bridget of Kildare Cemetery Committee govern in all cases (names of persons on Cemetery Committee may be obtained at Parish Office.)

These rules are subject to change as circumstances warrant. The new rules become effective immediately upon approval. The purpose of the rules of the St. Bridget of Kildare Cemetery is to promote the ideals of Christian Burial, the continuing welfare of the Cemetery and the well-being of lot holders and visitors.

Location
St. Bridget of Kildare Cemetery is located about 1.5 miles from St. Bridget Church off of Orr St. just north of Highway 44.
 

Purchase and Cost

• A cemetery plot costs $1100. Please note: This amount covers the purchase and maintenance of the plot. Additional fees (see below) for the vault and burial will also be incurred.
• A concrete vault must be purchased by the family to be used in the parish cemetery.
• The grave opening with the marking of the grave site will be $1,400.  The fee is to be paid directly to the parish.  In the case of cremation, a $750 fee will be assessed.  R. Bruns Co. performs the excavating services.

The fees associated with burial are typically mediated through the funeral home (if applicable), and we would appreciate these fees being paid at the time the funeral arrangements are made.

To purchase a cemetery plot, please contact the Parish Office: 636-271-3993x201, or [email protected].

Plot Purchase Information
The purchase of cemetery plots shall be limited to members of St. Bridget of Kildare parish. A "member" is any active, registered parishioner or a spouse of an active, registered parishioner. Such a determination is made by the Pastor and/or Cemetery Committee.

The purchase of plots shall be limited to the purchase of two plots by a Member to be used by such Member and his or her spouse, with only two exceptions:

1) The first exception being for a physically or mentally handicapped dependent of a Member who has been or will be, during such dependent’s lifetime, completely dependent upon a person who is a Member of the Parish. In this case, a person who is a Member of the Parish may purchase a plot for said dependent prior to such dependent’s death.

2) The second exception is that if a dependent, who has been under the care of a Member, shall succumb before the age of 18, said Member may at the time of said dependent’s death purchase a plot for said individual, whether or not such individual is a Member of the Parish.

In other words, only two plots can be purchased at the time of the initial purchase, which plots are to be used by a husband and wife, and no reservations can be made for plots to be used by children of said husband and wife, except for the above mentioned first exception. If it is the intention of the husband and wife that cremation is the intended plan of burial, then two containers of cremains (ashes) will be permitted for burial on one plot. However, such intention must be designated at the time of purchase of the plot.

Plots must be paid for in full and fully covered with Endowed Care at the time of purchase and before burial.

The Cemetery Committee reserves the right to change the price of plots when circumstances are deemed necessary to maintain the financial obligations of the Cemetery grounds. The Parish office can be contacted for current prices. A Certificate of Ownership will be issued to the purchaser of said plots.

Conditions of the Cemetery

It is the requirement that concrete vaults or steel vaults are used for all burials. The grade of all lots, graves, sections, roads, fences or other features of the Cemetery shall be determined by the Cemetery Committee and may be altered when deemed necessary. All work on lots and graves (setting of foundations, grass cutting, filling graves, planting, etc.) shall be done in accordance with the policies established by the Cemetery Board. The St. Bridget of Kildare Parish Cemetery Board reserves the right to contract all services done in the Cemeteries.

Aisles, walks, roads and other areas may be converted to burial ground as determined by the Cemetery Committee. Monuments or other structures that become dangerous or detrimental to persons in the Cemetery may be repaired or removed. Cemetery property (statues, trees, shrubs or entrance gates) shall not be decorated in any manner.

Contributions to the cemetery are added to the Cemetery’s Endowment Fund, the whole annual income of which is to be used for the proportionate care and maintenance of the Cemetery’s lawns, roads and related property. Endowed Care does not provide for the maintenance of private property, such as monuments, markers, vases, etc. Maintenance work not covered by the Endowed Care will be done at the expense of the lot holders.

The disinterment of the dead is against the Canons of the Church. It will be allowed only for the most pressing reasons upon written consent of the Archbishop of St. Louis or another in his stead.

The rules for memorial work at St. Bridget of Kildare Cemetery are designed for the benefit of all. We hope to make it easier to mark the graves of all buried here while maintaining the overall appearance of the Cemetery. The Church reserves the right at all times to prescribe the kind, design, size, symbolism, craftsmanship, quality and material of all memorials, inspections, plaques, monuments or markers placed in the Cemetery. All monuments are subject to approval by the Cemetery Committee.

There shall be only one monument installed on a grave plot which protrudes above the surface of ground level. Any additional marker (military or personal) shall be placed at the foot of the grave and be at ground level. Enclosures of plots (coping of concrete, fences and chains) are not permitted. Temporary grave markers will be permitted for no more than one year from interment date.

All monument foundations will not be installed until a period of six months has passed following an interment, to allow the ground to settle. All foundations will be installed at specifications determined by the Cemetery Committee. All footings and foundations will be installed by Alan Bruns/Bruns Monument Company.

Before any monument, memorial, effigy or other structure on any lot is erected on a lot, a proposal, including drawings/sketches of the proposals, which shall include any and all inscriptions which the lot owners intend to include on the monument, etc. shall be submitted to the Cemetery Board for its approval. Should all or any part of an inscription, memorial, effigy another structure be deemed unfitting or incompatible with the Catholic character of the Cemetery, it shall be lawful for the Cemetery Committee to prohibit its erection or to remove it.

The Church disclaims all responsibility for damage or injury to a monument although it will exercise all ordinary care to protect them. Normal wear and tear due to Cemetery operations is to be expected and causes no liability to the Cemetery Committee. In the event of an error on the part of the Cemetery Committee, it has no other liability than to correct its error at its expense. All other errors are the liability of those responsible.