Newtown cemetery building first-of-its-kind place to grieve after pregnancy loss
The space will offer a public place for the private grief of pregnancy loss, allowing people to honor and even bury their miscarried or stillborn children.
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Resurrection Cemetery in Newtown spans 80 acres, offering a tranquil space to commemorate and contemplate. But recently, that peace has been on pause for a purpose—construction of the Little Angels Shrine. The space will offer a public place for the private grief of pregnancy loss, allowing people to honor and even bury their miscarried or stillborn children. It's the first of its kind in Connecticut and maybe the country.
“You don't realize how many people this has affected until you start talking about it, and no one talks about it,” explained Kenn Devane, head of cemetery relations for the Diocese of Bridgeport which owns and operates Resurrection Cemetery. “We wanted to have a special place that parents can come to remember their children.”
Devane told News 12 the idea was first brought up by a local woman who suffered several miscarriages.
“She’s been on a mission for about 20 years to get some kind of recognition for children lost in miscarriage,” Devane said. “She could not get a reception from, at the time, the New York Diocese, the Hartford Diocese or even the Diocese of Bridgeport. Since then, years have passed, bishops have changed, and the current bishop, Frank Caggiano, was open to the idea of creating a special spot to remember these babies."
The shrine features an altar and benches for monthly services there. Marble monuments of the 14 Stations of the Cross surround the outdoor sanctuary.
“We've had quite a few moms actually go over to station 13 where Mary is taking her son off the cross and say, ‘That's the kind of hurt that I have,’” Devane told News 12.
Memorial walls are in the process of going up. They’ll include plaques in honor of those who didn’t get to grow up and also offer a resting place for any remains.
“From our research, in the entire country, there's not another baby shrine where you actually bury remains if they're available,” said Devane.
What's also different is all faiths are welcome, even though the shrine is in a Catholic cemetery.
Devane said he’s already heard from people interested, including people who live outside the state or suffered pregnancy loss decades ago. All never had a place to mourn.
“The feedback we're getting from people is telling us that this is what they're looking for,” Devane explained. “And I think that is what starts to crystalize in people's heads. They don't have to walk around with a hole in their heart. They can walk around knowing that there's some place they can sit and be with them.”
The shrine is set to be complete in early September with the first service scheduled for Sept. 13. A stone arch will be added to the shrine next spring.
Devane said there is no charge for families interested in plaques or burial there, though donations are welcome.
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