Plans are in hand to build a columbarium, on a portion of the perimeter concrete wall at St. Mary’s Burial Ground in Anguilla, as a receptacle for the ashes of deceased persons. This has been disclosed by the Rt. Rev. Errol Brooks.
Bishop Brooks, Head of the Diocese of the North Eastern Caribbean and Aruba and Priest-in-Charge of St. Mary’s Parish, Anguilla, made the disclosure to The Anguillian newspaper on Tuesday, September 25.
“You may notice that most of the vaults are being built on the south side of the Church and that is very hard ground – so much so that sometimes a priestman (a heavy digging machine) has to be used to break up the stone,” the Bishop explained. “The time is fast approaching when we have to look for additional space to bury our dead. There is still a little space on the north side which can be dug easily.
“Looking towards the future, we would like to put in place what is called a columbarium – for housing the ashes of persons who have been cremated. We are looking at a design and it is going to be attached to the wall at the south-eastern corner of the burial ground.
“There will be the possibility for those who would have had their relatives cremated to secure their ashes in those slots. In some places, people actually pay a sort of rental fee for that. But we haven’t gone there as yet until we really get the facility in place and know exactly what the costing is going to be. Then we will be able to think in terms of a nominal fee”.
“Bishop Brooks continued: “I notice as I drove down the George Hill area there is a sign next to Rey’s Funeral Home stating that a crematorium is coming to. So, in the not-too-distant future, there is going to be cremation on Anguilla. I know persons have taken their loved ones to St. Maarten or St. Croix to have that done. In some cases, they choose to scatter the ashes on the water; in other cases they keep the ashes at home; or they sprinkle it somewhere on the ground – wherever they choose. But we are trying to put in place a sanitary situation where the ashes can be kept.”
“How far down the road are you looking towards that eventuality – a year or two? The Anguillian asked the Bishop.
“No, I hope that before a year is up we can have the columbarium in place.”
“Will that mean rebuilding the south-east corner of the cemetery wall?”
“No. It is going to be an extension of some sort, upwards. It is not going to be an ugly structure, but will have a design to it.”
The Bishop said many people were now taking the cremation route. “I know that for some people it is tough, and I suppose many of them would have had their struggles [in terms of cremation],” he stated. “But the reality is that space is becoming a scarce commodity, and you have to look at other ways of dealing with such situations.”
Bishop Brooks went on: “I have actually done burials at sea – a rather interesting experience…You have to deal with maritime boundaries, and all that kind of stuff, to make sure you are not intruding on somebody else’s maritime space. The burials I did at sea were between Antigua and St. Kitts, and there were officials from both islands present – ensuring that the burials were within the maritime boundaries.”
Meanwhile, Bishop Brooks said there were now a lot of new improvements at St. Mary’s Burial Ground. “There is a new wall, and we are insisting that loved ones cover the vaults,” he stressed. “If they don’t, we are going to pack them with dirt because it is a health matter with mosquitoes, and what not, breeding in the vaults when there is water in them. We have a responsibility to encourage healthy living and we want people to be responsible.”
