Cardinal's Welcome

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

No one who has ever suffered the loss of a loved one needs to be reminded or even encouraged to remember those that we have handed over to the all merciful Father. 

The human heart naturally remembers and holds ever fresh the faces, the voices, the fond memories of our dearly departed. 

This is why right from the  beginning, believers have set aside blessed ground—these gardens of God’s saints—for their beloved dead who await the resurrection of their bodies in Christ. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus has answered the desires of the human heart, renewing our identity as God's own daughters and sons. 

With this hope, I encourage you to contact a parish priest when a death in the family is imminent, always mindful of the words of Jesus: "I have not come to condemn the world, but to save it!" (John 12:47). This is especially true for those who have been away from the practice of faith and now long to draw near. 

As Pope Francis reminds us: "Jesus Christ is the face of the Father’s mercy!”  (Misericoriae Vultus, 1).  Come make a prayerful visit to one of the Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Washington, to a resting place of spiritual assurance.

With prayerful best wishes for you and your family, I am

Devotedly yours in Christ,

✠ Wilton Cardinal Gregory
Archbishop of Washington