• Our Faith
    • What is the Catholic Church?
    • What do Catholics Believe?
    • Indulgences
    • How do I Become Catholic?
    • Catholic Resources
    • Go Make Disciples
      • Forming Leadership
      • Seeking Holiness
      • Witnessing to Christ
      • Go Make Disciples Live
      • Kerygma Books
      • Day of Equipping
    • Matrimonio y Familia
    • Las indulgencias
  • Our Diocese
    • About
      • Contact Us
      • Events
      • Parishes
      • Photo Albums
      • Staff
    • Our Bishop
      • Bishop's Parish Missions
      • Past Bishops
      • Remembering Bishop Morlino
      • Bishop's Playlists
    • Our Clergy
      • All Priests
      • Active Priests
      • Retired Priests
      • Religious Institute Priests/Brothers
    • Our Parishes
      • Parish Finder
      • Parish Councils and Committees
      • Parish Corporations
        • Lay Trustees
    • Our Schools
    • Our Cemeteries
    • More
      • Mass Times
  • Offices & Apostolates
    • Apostolate for Persons with Disabilities
      • Mental Health
        • Referral Network
        • Mental Health Resources
        • Mental Health Ministry
        • Mental Health Ministry Events
        • Support Groups
    • Bishop
    • Building, Construction, and Real Estate
      • New Construction Projects
      • Facility Assessment
      • Parish Maintenance
      • Real Estate
      • Leasing Parish Property
      • Find a Contractor
    • Cemeteries
      • grave-thoughts
        • bus to heaven
        • Catholic Burial Problems
        • CCW Logo Contest Winner
        • Console, Don't Canonize
        • A Mission of Mercy
        • Jewish Burial Traditions Part I
        • Jewish Burial Traditions Part II
        • Disposition Decisions, Part I
        • Disposition Decisions, Part II
        • Football, Cremation, and the Church
        • Alkaline Hydrolysis and You
        • Thinking About Green Burial
        • Are ‘Celebrations of Life’ Catholic?
        • Understanding Cemetery Jargon
        • Praying for All Souls
        • Praying About Death
        • Hope to Die Review
        • How to get a Catholic Funeral
        • cemetery-arrangements
        • A Little Help
      • ccw
        • CCW Indulgence
        • logo
        • photo-contest
        • Photo Contest Winners
      • seminar
      • tree
      • Special Care Fund
      • Mission
      • Locations
        • Resurrection Cemetery
        • Mt. Olivet Cemetery
        • Mt. Thabor Cemetery
        • Calvary Cemetery
      • Catholic Funerals
      • Preplanning
      • Products and Services
      • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Cemetery Decorating Regulations
      • Wreath Order Form
      • Cemetery Contract Payment
      • Find a loved one
      • angels
    • Communications
    • Evangelization and Catechesis
      • Parish Leaders
        • Mazzachelli Institute of Mission & Leadership
        • Directors of Evangelization
        • Cenacles for Parish Leaders
        • AV Library
        • Catechetical Standards and Benchmarks
        • Mazzuchelli Institute for Parish Leaders (Getting Started)
        • MDREO
        • Regional Gatherings
        • Textbooks & Curriculum
        • Human Person Meeting
      • Programs and Events
        • Catechesis of the Good Shepherd
        • Theology of the Body
        • Called and Gifted
        • Jesus and the Eucharist
      • Resources
        • Continuing Education
      • Retreats
        • Kairos TEC
      • Sacraments
      • OCIA
        • Neophyte Mass
        • OCIA Training
      • Seat of Wisdom Institute
        • What is SOWDI?
        • Getting Started with Classes
        • Franciscan at Home Catechetical Institute
        • Trono de Sabiduría
        • Metanoia Retreat Days
      • St. Therese Lecture Series
      • Theology of the Body
      • Totus Tuus
        • Parish Host Materials
      • Prayer and Healing Ministry
    • Finance
      • Risk Management
        • CMG Online Training
    • Mental Health
    • Ministerio Hispano
      • Consejo Asesor del Ministerio Hispano
      • Eventos parroquiales
      • Preparación Matrimonial
      • Oportunidades de Trabajo
    • Marriage and Family
      • WTL Online Retreat
      • Marriage Preparation
        • Weekend Retreat
        • WTL Retreat
        • Prepare + Enrich Training
        • Witness to Love In Person Retreat
      • Natural Family Planning
        • Learn a Method
        • Marquette Method
        • Become an NFP Instructor
      • Preparación Matrimonial
        • Inscripción Pre-Matrimonial
      • Marriage Enrichment
        • Date Night
        • A Love That Grows
        • Family Retreat Registration
      • Resources & Support
      • Anniversary Celebration
        • Registration Form
      • Marriage & Family Appreciation Mass & Lunch
      • Divorce Ministry
      • Separated Catholics
    • Parish Support
    • Safe Environment
      • Local Administrators
      • Children's Program
        • Letter to Parents
        • COG Lesson Plans
        • Opt-Out Process
        • Follow up Report
        • COG Training
      • Policy Book & Code of Conduct
      • Social Services Contacts
      • VIRTUS Program Information
      • Victim Assistance
    • Schools
      • Encounter in Christ 2024
      • Principals
      • Staff
      • Volunteers
      • Students and Families
      • Accreditation
      • Standards
      • Legal Resources
      • School Finder
      • School Job Opportunities
      • Accreditation
      • High Schools
      • Elementary Schools
      • Transportation
      • International Students
      • Accreditation for Parents
      • Grads at Grad
      • Blessed Carlo Acutis Academy
        • BCA Tuition
    • Stewardship and Development
      • Annual Catholic Appeal
        • ACA Main
        • This year's theme
        • ACA Fund Allocation
        • Appeal Materials
        • How Can I Give?
        • Parish Goals
        • Lumen Christi
        • ACA Videos
        • form WEB/NXT /acamain
        • form DM /acagive
        • form ADV /2025aca
        • form IP /inpew
        • form TABLOID /tabloid
        • form PHII /acamail2
        • form PHIII /acamail3
        • form CH /ch
        • form SOCIAL /acasocial
        • form EMAIL /acaemail
        • form ACA Spanish
      • Perpetual Steward Society
      • Contact Us
      • Diocesan & National Collections
        • Collection Resources
        • Catholic Schools Collection
        • National Combined Collection
        • Respect Life Collection
        • International Combined Collection
        • Bless Our Priests
      • Parish Stewardship
        • Offertory
      • Priests For Our Future Capital Campaign
      • Planned Giving
      • ParishStaq Implementation Form
    • TechHelp
      • ParishStaq Implementation
      • Learn ParishStaq
      • ParishStaq Contacts
      • Diocesan Data Hub
      • parishstaq-howto
    • Vicar for Clergy
      • Clergy Resources
    • Vicar General
      • Resources for Clergy
      • Marriage Forms
    • Vocations
    • Worship
      • Bringing the Liturgy Home
      • Catholics with Special Needs
      • Confirmation Information
        • Adult Confirmation
      • Diocesan Choir
        • Youth Scholarship
        • Repertoire and Recordings
        • Study Recordings
      • Liturgy
        • Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion
        • Lectors
        • Liturgical Music
      • Liturgical Year & Sacraments
        • Sacraments
        • Penance & Reconciliation
        • Baptism
      • Rite of Election
      • Recursos en español
      • Eucharistic Miracles Display
    • Youth Formation
      • Camp Gray
      • Frassati Fest
      • Heart To Heart
      • Love Begins Here
    • MORE
      • All Offices & Apostolates
      • Contact Information
        • Diocesan Offices
        • Diocesan Apostolates
        • More Catholic Entities
      • Virtus Online Registration
  • News & Events
    • Diocesan Events
    • Holy Name Heights
    • Pope Francis
    • Witness to Hope Lenten Program
    • Testigos de la Esperanza
    • More
      • Catholic Herald
  • Donate
    • More
      • Annual Catholic Appeal
      • Bless Our Priests
      • Catholic Schools
      • Disaster Relief
      • General Diocesan Donations (unrestricted)
      • Haiti Projects - Diocese of Jacmel
      • International Combined Collection
      • National Combined Collection
      • Perpetual Steward Society
      • Planned Giving
      • Priests for Our Future
      • Rachels Vineyard
      • Respect Life
      • Support Multiple Funds
  • Español
|||
Diocese of Madison
  • Contact Us
Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube Instagram
Search
  • Our Faith
      • What is the Catholic Church?
      • What do Catholics Believe?
      • Indulgences
      • How do I Become Catholic?
      • Catholic Resources
      • Go Make Disciples
      • Matrimonio y Familia
      • Las indulgencias
  • Our Diocese
      • About
      • Our Bishop
      • Our Clergy
      • Our Parishes
      • Our Schools
      • Our Cemeteries
    • More
      • Mass Times
  • Offices & Apostolates
      • Apostolate for Persons with Disabilities
      • Bishop
      • Building, Construction, and Real Estate
      • Cemeteries
      • Communications
      • Evangelization and Catechesis
      • Finance
      • Mental Health
      • Ministerio Hispano
      • Marriage and Family
      • Parish Support
      • Safe Environment
      • Schools
      • Stewardship and Development
      • TechHelp
      • Vicar for Clergy
      • Vicar General
      • Vocations
      • Worship
      • Youth Formation
    • MORE
      • All Offices & Apostolates
      • Contact Information
      • Virtus Online Registration
  • News & Events
      • Diocesan Events
      • Holy Name Heights
      • Pope Francis
      • Witness to Hope Lenten Program
      • Testigos de la Esperanza
    • More
      • Catholic Herald
  • Donate
    • More
      • Annual Catholic Appeal
      • Bless Our Priests
      • Catholic Schools
      • Disaster Relief
      • General Diocesan Donations (unrestricted)
      • Haiti Projects - Diocese of Jacmel
      • International Combined Collection
      • National Combined Collection
      • Perpetual Steward Society
      • Planned Giving
      • Priests for Our Future
      • Rachels Vineyard
      • Respect Life
      • Support Multiple Funds
  • Español
    • Thinking About Green Burial

      St. Anthony the Great had a problem. He was 105 years old, he lived in fourth-century Egypt, and he was famous.

      He did not want to be embalmed. But the common practice at the death of eminent personages such as himself was to preserve them, pose them on couches, and to keep them in their houses.

      This was intended to honor the deceased.

      Anthony knew that some of his fellow hermits might try something like that. So shortly before his death, he reminded them that the bodies of the patriarchs and prophets are preserved in tombs, and the very body of the Lord was laid in a tomb.

      St. Athanasius, who reported these words of Anthony, concluded that not burying the dead was wrong. And so even in Egypt, burial became the normal way Christians treated their dead.

      St. Anthony became the patron saint of gravediggers.

      The American way of death

      Today, some of us face a similar problem, discomfort with the impersonal nature of what has been called “the American way of death.”

      From the hospital where most are likely to die, the body is whisked away to the funeral home where it is typically embalmed, then ferried to the parish church for the Funeral Mass and the cemetery for the committal. (Or alternatively from the church to the crematory, and then to the cemetery.)

      Increasingly, people also wonder about the environmental impact of these burial practices.

      Is it good for our drinking water and soil to bury three gallons of embalming fluid and a casket coated with noxious chemicals in a reinforced concrete vault that will leach it out for years to come?

      Or is it right to cremate, which releases about the same emissions as two full tanks of gas?

      Catholics are not wrong to consider the environmental impact of their burial.

      Green burial

      Our present culture discusses these issues under the heading of “green burial”.

      Although some contemporary “green” ideas for handling human remains are manifestly incompatible with our faith, there’s nothing un-Catholic or untraditional about the central concept.

      The practice of much of the non-English-speaking world offers a good example of a better way: Most people in the world die at home rather than the hospital, are washed by relatives and friends, wrapped in a shroud, laid out at home for the vigil, carried by friends and relatives to the church for the funeral Mass, and then to the cemetery for burial, all within three days.

      This order of proceeding respects the dead and offers the living the comfort of concrete human expressions of their grief. At the same time, it avoids unnecessary harm to the environment — not to mention unnecessary expense to the family.

      The first such green burial I attended was moving. The matriarch of the family was wrapped first in a shroud, and outside that in a quilt made by her children. She was laid on a trundle — a wide plank with six ropes attached.

      Without a heavy casket, six family members easily carried her from the hearse to the grave, which was open and did not have the lowering device we use with caskets. The family members carefully walked three on either side of the grave, and then lowered her into the ground. The ropes were all-natural and were also placed in the grave.

      After the family departed, I asked the funeral director for some further details. The deceased had not been embalmed but had been cooled. There had been no viewing, no open casket. Our cemeteries normally require vaults to guard against settling, but these are not necessary in a green burial.

      Catholic considerations

      There are other green burial practices offered today that place environmental and sentimental concerns ahead of fidelity.

      Like the hermits who would have posed a mummified St. Anthony on a couch, the intention is to honor the dead, but the following methods fall short of how we are called to follow Jesus:

      • Composting pitched as a natural alternative to burial or cremation. Some like the idea of using composted human remains as fertilizer, but this method has more to do with the “circle of life” bound to this world than the resurrection of the body to everlasting life.

      • Alkaline hydrolysis. A bill was introduced in the Wisconsin Assembly last year to authorize this method, sometimes called “water cremation”. However, this method is not cremation at all but is a way of chemically dissolving the body, and the Wisconsin Catholic Conference successfully opposed the authorization of this method of treating human remains.

      I should also mention that cremated remains must be brought to a cemetery for burial. Anything other than that — scattering, retaining at home, etc. — falls short of the respect we owe to the bodies of our beloved dead, and fails to communicate our hope in the resurrection.

      There are many options for addressing the needs of the deceased, and many of them are compatible with the faith. But our starting point should be the “Catholic way of death”.

      Taking our cues from St. Anthony, our belief in the resurrection of the body and our desire to follow the example of the Lord can guide our choices of how we care for our dead.

    • Disposition Decisions by Damian Lenshek
    • Cemetery Links

      • Back to Main Blog Page
      • Contact Us
      • Make a contract payment
      • Buy an engraved brick
      • Decorating Regulations
      • Give a Tree
    • This article first appeared in the Diocese of Madison Catholic Herald on February 26, 2021 as part of the series, Death: Our Birth into Eternal Life.

    • Update

      In March of 2023, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Doctrine taught that neither alkaline hydrolysis nor composting respected the body the way the Church insists on. Read the statement here.

    • Damian Lenshek
    • About the author

      Damian Lenshek is Director of Cemeteries for the Diocese of Madison.

    • Our cemeteries


      Mount Thabor, Beloit

      Mount Olivet, Janesville

      Resurrection, Madison
  • Our Faith
      • What is the Catholic Church?
      • What do Catholics Believe?
      • Indulgences
      • How do I Become Catholic?
      • Catholic Resources
      • Go Make Disciples
      • Matrimonio y Familia
      • Las indulgencias
  • Our Diocese
      • About
      • Our Bishop
      • Our Clergy
      • Our Parishes
      • Our Schools
      • Our Cemeteries
    • More
      • Mass Times
  • Offices & Apostolates
      • Apostolate for Persons with Disabilities
      • Bishop
      • Building, Construction, and Real Estate
      • Cemeteries
      • Communications
      • Evangelization and Catechesis
      • Finance
      • Mental Health
      • Ministerio Hispano
      • Marriage and Family
      • Parish Support
      • Safe Environment
      • Schools
      • Stewardship and Development
      • TechHelp
      • Vicar for Clergy
      • Vicar General
      • Vocations
      • Worship
      • Youth Formation
    • MORE
      • All Offices & Apostolates
      • Contact Information
      • Virtus Online Registration
  • News & Events
      • Diocesan Events
      • Holy Name Heights
      • Pope Francis
      • Witness to Hope Lenten Program
      • Testigos de la Esperanza
    • More
      • Catholic Herald
  • Donate
    • More
      • Annual Catholic Appeal
      • Bless Our Priests
      • Catholic Schools
      • Disaster Relief
      • General Diocesan Donations (unrestricted)
      • Haiti Projects - Diocese of Jacmel
      • International Combined Collection
      • National Combined Collection
      • Perpetual Steward Society
      • Planned Giving
      • Priests for Our Future
      • Rachels Vineyard
      • Respect Life
      • Support Multiple Funds
  • Español

[email protected]
 608-821-3000

702 S. High Point Rd. Madison, WI 53719
Copyright © 2015 - 2024, Diocese of Madison.
 All rights reserved.


Career Opportunities






en Englishfr Françaises Español
en en

en Englishfr Françaises Español
en en
Login
powered by eCatholic®