Holy Innocents Hill Offers Free Burial of Miscarried Babies

by Ashley Slack

KIOWA. Over the past three years, the diocesan miscarriage and infant loss support ministry, Heart of My Heart, has diligently strived to curate quality Catholic resources to present to families suffering the loss of their preborn and infant children. Though the resources have at times changed, our mission has persisted.

Drawing inspiration, strength, and graces from the Blessed Virgin Mary we do our best to provide families with the information they need to carry out the corporal work of mercy of burying the dead when the unthinkable grief of child loss occurs.

In a world that devalues the sanctity of life, and especially the sanctity of the life of the preborn child, it is a great moral imperative to faithfully carry out this work of mercy for our miscarried children where and when it is possible. They are human beings made in God’s image and likeness. They are precious, and beloved, and we must take care to honor their brief lives, in death as well, just as we would any other loved one.

Queen of Heaven Catholic cemetery has been one of the most vital local resources at our disposal when serving families. Most notably, they offer Holy Innocents Hill, a special area set aside on the grounds of Queen of Heaven, devoted specifically for the burial of miscarried babies, which are preborn losses occurring before 20-weeks. Families can bury their miscarried children at no cost, and with less administrative hassle than at other cemeteries. This can be a huge blessing to families who have repeatedly shared with me their relief that in the midst of their pain, there was a place available for them to lay their precious child’s remains to rest.

Heart of My Heart works in collaboration with Queen of Heaven by providing families with a miniature sized burial vessel, which looks like a tiny casket, also at no cost. We also have baby resting gowns and burial pouches, made lovingly by a local St Peter Catholic Church volunteer from donated wedding gowns, available to families so that they have a beautiful white garment to lay their children to rest in, no matter how small they are. The intention is always to treat the preborn child as a precious human being worthy of love and care.

Families can also find information at heartofmyheart.org and on the diocesan website, https://www.diocs.org/Offices/Respect-Life-Apostolate/Miscarriage-and-Infant-Loss-Support, about different blessings and rites that may be performed by a priest at the time of burial, inurnment or during a memorial Mass. These options should be discussed in more detail with your parish priest to determine what is most appropriate.

For those who have suffered a miscarriage, Queen of Heaven Cemetery is located at 34201 County Rd. 33, Kiowa, 80117. They can be reached at 303-646-4964 or olvonline.org/funeral-burial-options/queen-of-heaven-cemetery and can assist you in laying your precious preborn child to rest at Holy Innocents Hill if that is your desire.

Other Catholic options for burial or inurnment in our region include the following:

Mount St. Francis Columbarium in Colorado Springs  offers a Holy Innocents niche for the ashes of preborn children at no charge to families. The outside of the niche is engraved “Holy Innocents.” They can be contacted at 719-955-3810 or msfcolumbarium@stfrancis.org.

Calvary Catholic Cemetery is owned and operated by St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Stratton. They offer an unmarked section of the cemetery with unmarked graves for the burial of preborn children, at no cost to families. They can be contacted at 719-348-5336.

For those who live in the Northern Deanery of the Diocese of Colorado Springs, Mount Olivet Cemetery is located in Wheat Ridge and offers the Precious Lives Burial ministry. All families, no matter their faith are welcome to place their miscarried and stillborn children into care with this ministry. They will bury infant losses, at no cost to families. They also offer monthly memorial Masses. They can be contacted at 303-502-9666, or by visiting their website at https://cfcscolorado.org/immediate-need/precious-lives-burial/.

(Ashley Slack coordinates the diocesan Heart of My Heart miscarriage ministry.)