Recording the Remembered by Kate Rhea

By Kate Rhea

As part of an ongoing cemetery restoration project, the Diocese of Shreveport has created a database to collect and maintain information on each grave in St. Joseph Cemetery. With one hundred thirty-five years of history, St. Joseph Cemetery is a cultural treasure to not only Catholics in the area, but the City of Shreveport as well. Many of the deceased, now resting at St. Joseph Cemetery, were Italian and French immigrants who helped build Shreveport in its early post-Civil War years, from Slattery and Gras to Drouin, Doll, and Maranto. As the late Shreveport historian Eric Brock explains, “An archive of the city’s immigrant population can be found at St. Joseph. Names of many national origins can be found there, such as: French, German, Italian, Greek, Russian, Polish, Syrian and Lebanese, Austrian, Spanish, Mexican, Irish, African-American, and many others. Their one common thread is adherence to the Roman Catholic Faith.” The importance of archiving information about the deceased at St. Joseph Cemetery is paramount to keeping their incredible histories alive. Gravestones, markers, and mausoleums feature general information, albeit sometimes incorrect or illegible due to years of weathering, but the database project aims to decipher and document the correct information for archival purposes. In the future, limited information will be available to the public for research purposes.

Collecting and documenting information on those interred in St. Joseph Cemetery is an important part of burying the dead, one of the Corporal Works of Mercy. The lives of Catholics who helped advance Shreveport while practicing their faith serve as a reminder of how important those qualities are, in any century.

While St. Joseph Cemetery is long-standing and time-honored, there are still hundreds of plots available in this sacred paragon which are available for purchase. If you would like information on purchasing burial rights in St. Joseph Cemetery, please call the Catholic Center or e-mail Kate Rhea at krhea@dioshpt.org.

Our restoration of the crypts in the Calvary Mound is progressing nicely. You will notice that concrete walls have been poured around the crypts that were brick and mortar. We are now in the process of painting the crypts to reduce fungus, algae, weathering and discoloring. The gray was decided on as it will compliment beautifully the new granite ledgers that are on order to be engraved and placed over them. The three priest victims of the Yellow Fever Epidemic are awaiting an answer to the application to have them declared “Servants of God,” the first step in the canonization process. The new granite ledgers for those three priests have been paid for through the generosity of a long standing Catholic family in the diocese with family ties to the cemetery.

We are hoping that the ledgers of the other deceased Holy Trinity pastors will also be covered through donations from the faithful.

Another large project at the Cemetery is replacing the clear glass in the Chapel Mausoleum with stained glass and new doors. Another large Catholic family is looking at that project.

No matter what the level of interest or the level of donation, everyone is asked to remember a loved one buried at St. Joseph Cemetery by making a donation to continue the renovation of the only Catholic Cemetery in the Shreveport/Bossier Area.

It has been brought to my attention also there is a marble altar on the East side of Forest Park Cemetery that the diocese placed there many years ago. In future articles look for information regarding the complete new landscaping, cleaning and renovation of that outdoor altar. If you are interested in the Forest Park project please email: Randy Tiller, Chancellor: rtiller@dioshpt.org. Restorations of the Yellow Fever Priest Graves By Randy G. Tiller