 The first time our committee saw the Loreto Crypt. Fr. Wilbert surprised us with the announcement. Written by Sara Francis, Diocesan Miscarriage Care Committee The Diocese of Calgary is set to unveil its first-ever eternal resting place for miscarried babies. All are invited to join Bishop William McGrattan for the opening blessing of Loreto Crypt Sanctuary for little souls in Queen’s Park Cemetery at 4 p.m. on December 10, the Memorial of Our Lady of Loreto, followed by a reception at Our Lady of Peace Maronite Church in Calgary. A black marble crypt with gold etching has the capacity to house one thousand containers for the remains of babies under 20 weeks of gestation. Catholics and non-Catholics alike are welcome to inter the remains inside the crypt with the understanding that this is a ministry of the Catholic Church. This above-ground burial (technically an entombment in a crypt) is being made available as a dignified permanent resting place for miscarried babies. The crypt can be opened year-round to support families in real time. Use of the crypt is provided at no charge; the City of Calgary Cemeteries will cover all associated burial costs for openings conducted during regular operating hours. Services requested outside normal hours will be subject to applicable overtime fees. Babies can be memorialized on a registry accessible on the diocesan website by scanning a QR code on the crypt. Families may also choose personal alternative memorialization options available through the funeral home or the cemetery office. Families are encouraged to contact their funeral home, who will make arrangements through the Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary and Queen’s Park Cemetery for interment in the Loreto Crypt at Queen’s Park Cemetery. The committee is deeply grateful that funeral homes are offering the entirety of their professional services and suitable containers at no cost for families facing the loss of a child. On behalf of the Calgary Diocese Miscarriage Care Committee I am honoured to share this significant news. For seven years Mike and Amber Franco and myself (Sara Francis) have been patiently awaiting and persistently working toward this burial place. We are grateful for the countless people along the journey who have supported our vision. Our committee was formed in January of 2019, after both of our families independently contacted the Diocese, looking for the best burial options for our babies, but there was no simple answer. Right from the outset, Bishop McGrattan and Moderator of the Curia Fr. Wilbert Chin Jon supported our desire for a diocesan-sanctioned burial place. As Catholics, we hold the conviction that life begins at conception. And since we couldn’t parent our children here on Earth, we longed to provide them a dignified eternal resting home. More than a decade ago with the support of the late Bishop Fred Henry, a separate Miscarriage Liturgy Team began its mandate to host an annual liturgy for miscarried and stillborn babies and early infant loss. This team had tried to establish a permanent resting place, but faced roadblocks around securing a space. Fast forward to this May, Fr. Wilbert asked our committee to meet at Queen’s Park Cemetery. We parked along a cemetery road, got out and Fr. Wilbert pointed to the crypt, surprising us with the good news. The City of Calgary had an extra crypt in its inventory and the Diocese was prepared for the opportunity to purchase it. I exclaimed, “It’s a miracle. After all this time, it’s as if the crypt just fell out of the sky from Heaven!” “Yes, it’s like the Miracle of Loreto,” replied Fr. Wilbert. And the name stuck: Loreto Crypt, "A Sanctuary for Little Souls." According to tradition, in the 13th Century, angels moved the Holy House of Nazareth (site of the Annunciation and home of the Holy Family) to Loreto, Italy. The crypt looks like a house, and I hope families can envision their children resting in the eternal love of the Holy Family within their Holy House. The Incarnation – God taking on human form – happened at the Annunciation, when the Angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would conceive the Son of God in her womb. Because both these events happened hidden in Our Lady’s Holy House, our tiny children, though hidden from this life, are seen by Christ and have the hope of Heaven. This crypt has a special connection to the lasting legacy of the Francis Pontificate. In 2019, the late Pope Francis visited the shrine of Loreto and officially added the optional memorial of Our Lady of Loreto to the Roman Calendar – the same year our Miscarriage Burial Committee was formed. Then seven years later, Pope Francis designated 2025 as the Jubilee Year of Hope – the last year of his pontificate before he died and the year of the Loreto Crypt launch. Waiting has been a significant theme for our committee, and so, in the years of waiting for this burial place, our committee broadened its ministry. With the invaluable support of the diocesan Pastoral Ministry team, we continued to host the annual Miscarriage, Stillborn and Infant Loss liturgy in the autumn and organized a healing retreat in the spring. We created a webpage on the Diocese website and we offer spiritual friendship to those going through such loss. Like any good mission, the plot thickens under the strain of setbacks: changing committee members and diocesan staff, postponing plans during the Covid crisis, and growing our own families all impacted our personal capacity to work on the project, and yet, thanks be to God, we remained pilgrims of hope. And so in these darkest days of the calendar year, in this time of Advent and in these final weeks of the Jubilee Year of Hope, it’s our most tiny vulnerable pilgrims who are lighting our path, pointing us toward the ultimate hope of Heaven. We pray that the gift of this crypt blesses grieving families and stands as a tangible symbol of the dignity due every human life, starting from conception. All are loved by the Father simply because He wills us into earthly existence and eternal rest.
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December 2025
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