Monday Cemetery Blogging and NOLA Kossacks Open Thread

Statue of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, better known as Padre Pio, located in St. Louis Cemetery Number Three, on Esplanade Ave., near Bayou St. John.  Padre Pio, who was reputed to be in possession of the Stigmata (the wounds of Christ Crucified), lived from 1885 to 1968, and was canonized by John Paul II in 2002.

Padre Pio was a Capuchin friar.  The Capuchins had a big presence in New Orleans.  Combine that with the large Italian community here, and it's easy to understand  how his cult grew strong here.  New Orleanians are big believers in the mystical side of Catholicism.  The Lourdes, Fatima, and Guadalupe apparitions of the Virgin Mary are all honored here.  New Orleans is still one of the hotspots for the Medugorje cult.  There are dozens of shrines honoring saints in the metro area, including major shrines dedicated to St. Jude (at Our Lady of Guadalupe on N. Rampart) and St. Ann (at the church in Metairie bearing her name).  

Being the extremely Catholic town New Orleans is, it's no surprise to see devotional statues such as this in a Catholic cemetery.  This statue of Padre Pio is relatively new, erected in the spring of 2005.  

The inscription on the bottom of the statue reads:

"This humble Capuchin friar surprised the world with his life totally dedicated to prayer and to listening to his brothers and sisters.  His body, marked by the Stigmata, demonstrated the intimate connection between death and resurrection."

Beyond the basic fact that a statue of Padre Pio in one of New Orleans' oldest cemeteries makes perfect sense, I also choose to feature this photo today because St. Louis Number Three is where Dr. Ashley Morris, a well-loved member of the New Orleans blogging community who passed away last week, will be buried this Friday.  Dr. Morris' life was cut tragically short, and he leaves behind a wife and three small children.  The family is struggling with the burden of funeral expenses and other financial obligations.  Please consider going to the "Remember Ashley Morris" website and tossing a buck or two or ten their way.  

•  tip jar!

  cemetery mojo!

  by YatPundit on Mon Apr 07, 2008 at 03:56:09 PM PDT

•  Open Thread

  hi from Chicagoland!  

  by YatPundit on Mon Apr 07, 2008 at 03:56:24 PM PDT

  •  one of my fellow crossing guards

    died suddenly late last week. He was a lot older than I and had a bum ticker. His visitation is tomorrow and I saw his grave has already been dug up in the cemetary. The section Martin will be laid to rest in is the new portion of St. Mary's Cemetery. It's on top of a ridge and the wind just SCREAMS up there, so I don't envy anyone who goes to his burial. The weather will be nasty-as it often seems to be during a burial.  We are waiting with bated breath to see if the damn turkey vultures return for another season of crapping on gravestones,and projectile vomiting.

    by Pan Zareta on Mon Apr 07, 2008 at 05:11:29 PM PDT

    •  in new orleans

      the equivalent awful burial is in mid-July...

      by YatPundit on Mon Apr 07, 2008 at 05:47:33 PM PDT

      •  up here in Wisconsin

        anytime between November and May sucks. My father was buried just after Christmas,2001.  It was cold as Cheney's left nipple (you know,the one the Satan drinks from) with a raw wind like another Bush "initiative" screaming over the ridge. A tape recording of "Taps" was played because a real bugler's lips would have frozen to the mouthpiece.

        by Pan Zareta on Tue Apr 08, 2008 at 12:03:05 PM PDT