The St. Odilia Prayer Garden includes columbaria with niches for cremated remains as well as traditional in-ground burial plots. This is a sacred place where we bury our dead in the spirit of our faith and hope in eternal life. It is a place for our community to gather for prayer and a sacred place offering a quiet place for individual reflection and meditation. The natural beauty of the garden with the pond surrounds each visitor with the peaceful presence of the Creator. We are confident that this ministry at St. Odilia will be a source of comfort and hope for generations to come.
This sacred place is also a visual reminder of our belief in the Communion of Saints as we will eventually be surrounded by our ancestors in faith who have completed their life journey to God. A walk through this garden reminds us of those holy members of our community who have enriched the life of this community by their presence and gifts. Future generations will continue to build on the foundation of faith represented by those who rest in our Prayer Garden.
The Saint Odilia Prayer Garden now has 560 niches in the four columbaria, above-ground pillars with niches for cremated remains, each niche allowing for two adult size urns. There are two sections in the Prayer Garden with the west entrance dividing the areas. Currently our four columbaria are located in the south section nearest the pond where we also have 48 earth spaces. The north section has 259 earth spaces and will eventually contain columbaria as well. Our cemetery will have space for centuries to come. Each columbarium in our St. Odilia prayer Garden has its carefully chosen name etched in a prominent place.
The first columbarium erected (the round columbarium) was named and blessed “St. Francis” for a couple of reasons. St. Francis is the patron of the environment and it is our hope that the natural beauty in our Prayer Garden will inspire and enhance the prayer of those spending time in that sacred place. We also chose the name to honor our Pope Francis and his vision for our Church and our planet.
The second columbarium was named “St. Clare” in honor of the companion in ministry of St. Francis. Together they founded the Franciscan Order which to this day models for us simplicity of lifestyle and selfless care for one another and our earth.
The third columbarium honors our Crosier heritage as a Parish with the name “St. Monica”. The Crosier Fathers and Brothers have followed the Rule of St. Monica’s son St. Augustine for centuries. They also receive their Crosier habit and pronounce their vows on the Feasts of St. Monica and St. Augustine. It was the many years that St. Monica spent in prayer for her son that lead to his conversion and ultimately his many gifts to the Church. How perfect to have a model of prayer remembered in our own Prayer Garden.
The newest columbarium named after Saint Augustine, is situated by our Blessed Mother’s shrine near the pond. The five level columbarium features sixty niches facing the east and sixty niches facing the west. A plaza along with a wide cement pathway was added to allows access ability for all. Among other accomplishments, St. Augustine went on to write a Rule of Life that is followed by many Religious Communities, including the Crosier Fathers and Brothers who founded St. Odilia Parish and School in 1960. St. Augustine is also remembered for his spiritual masterpiece entitled “City of God”.
Lynne Schriver-Sheedy (c) 651-307-5315
Email: [email protected]
"Our St. Odilia Prayer Garden will now have a beautiful new feature near the St. Francis Columbarium. A Memorial Wall entitled, 'In Remembrance' has been added. Inscribed on this wall will be the names of those who are interred elsewhere but prayerfully and lovingly remembered by our St. Odilia Community. The inscriptions will include the names of our loved ones as well as the date of birth and death much like the inscriptions on the niches in the columbaria. Please see the 'Files' section below for more information about how to have a loved one's name inscribed on our Memorial Wall. We hope that you will take the time to stop by our Prayer Garden for a quiet moment of reflection and see the beautiful Memorial Wall."
- Kevin Scroggins, Prayer Garden committee member
Our Blessed Mother's Shrine
Overlooking the St. Odilia Prayer Garden is Our Blessed Mother, Mary. The statue of Mary in our Prayer Garden was truly rescued from a demolition pile as the former Home of the Good Shepherd was being taken down in North Oaks! It was discovered by one of the builders who then contacted Larry Langer of our parish to see if we might have a place for it on our campus. It was in need of repair but money was raised by the Morning Mass group to do that.
We do have a special connection with that statue of our Blessed Mother. It stood outside the Convent of the Contemplative Sisters of the Good Shepherd at the Home of the Good Shepherd since the Convent was built in 1969. The Contemplative Sisters prayerfully baked the altar bread that we used at Mass here at St. Odilia for decades!
When the statue was installed in our Prayer Garden the school children all stood in the Prayer Garden praying the rosary to welcome our Blessed Mother! Afterward, some of the children went to play on the playground and one of the little girls exclaimed: “Look, Mary is watching over us even when we are playing!”
