Archbishop Coakley dedicates new Catholic mausoleum

OKLAHOMA CITY – Archbishop Coakley on Aug. 17 dedicated the new Our Lady of Sorrows Mausoleum and chapel at Resurrection Memorial Cemetery in Oklahoma City. The 7,140-square-foot mausoleum will accommodate nearly 1,000 indoor and outdoor crypts.

“This is indeed a significant and important day for our global Church as we bear witness to our faith in a very public way, dedicating this chapel to Our Lady of Sorrows,” Archbishop Coakley said during his homily. 

“Those who gather here to honor their loved ones … will be reminded of the reason that we gather to honor the dead, to honor our faith in the Resurrection, to encourage one another with that faith. Death does not have the last word. Life is victorious; Christ is victorious. That is what our faith proclaims.” 

As part of the dedication, Archbishop Coakley blessed the altar and the walls of the mausoleum with Holy Chrism and blessed the outer walls of the building with holy water. A first-class relic of martyr Blessed Stanley Rother was placed under the altar. 

“Just in the days of old when the early Christians gathered to celebrate the Eucharist, from this day forward they will be close to the witness and reminded of the witness of the martyrs.”

The centerpiece of the mausoleum is an exact replica of Michelangelo’s Pieta in Rome. Branden Seid, executive director of the cemetery, said the sculpture was created by Pedrini Sculpture and Architecture in Carrera, Italy. Surrounding the Pieta are three mosaics. The largest mosaic on the back wall depicts the Resurrection of Jesus. On the side walls of the chapel are two smaller mosaics depicting the raising of Lazarus and the raising of the son of the widow of Nain.

Diane Clay is editor of the Sooner Catholic.

Our Lady of Sorrows Mausoleum
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Phone: (405) 721-4191 
E-mail: [email protected]
Online: resurrectionmemorialcemetery.com



Archbishop Coakley celebrated Mass and dedicated the new Our Lady of Sorrows Mausoleum on Aug. 17 at Resurrection Memorial Cemetery in Oklahoma City. Photos Diane Clay/Sooner Catholic.