In the Chicago area, there are nearly 180 School Sisters of Notre Dame buried in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Alsip, IL. On Saturday, September 14, Sisters in the Chicago area gathered at Holy Sepulcher along with associates, Academy of Our Lady alumnae board members, funeral directors, and cemetery officials to dedicate a statue of St. Joseph at the province’s newest block of graves.
The statue of St. Joseph, which had once resided at the Academy of Our Lady (AOL) – a beloved former SSND school in Longwood – was taken out of storage, given a new pedestal with the SSND logo, and rededicated at the new site. The statue had been donated to the Academy of Our Lady by William and Mary Torpey in honor of their daughter, Alphonse Marie Torpey, SSND, who was a teacher and vice principal at AOL from 1954 until her death in April 1963.
Holy Sepulchre Catholic Cemetery was the first cemetery to open in Chicago after World War I, the first major cemetery to open with provisions that future care costs would be included in the purchase price of all graves, and the first to establish the policy of Lawn Level Grave Markers. The cemetery is also the burial place of the late Mayor Richard J. Daley of Chicago. Section 26 features the Saint Patrick Shrine and eight other wayside Shrines honoring sixteen Irish Saints. The Mausoleum of the Archangels was dedicated by Cardinal Bernardin in 1993. The School Sisters of Notre Dame have been burying Sisters there since 1929.
Sister Celeste, in the name of Sister Charmaine, welcomed all participants and invited them to remember Sisters buried at Holy Sepulcher, as Sister Maggie mingled waters from two primary residences of our Sisters in Chicago – Marian Village and Resurrection Life Center. The statue was blessed, as well as the graves, by former Chicago leadership. Following the dedication, a luncheon was enjoyed by all, with a meal blessing from Monsignor Pollard. A memorial card was distributed at the meal.
Many thanks to Chicago Sisters Miriam Patrick Cummings and Maureen Clancy for planning the day.
