While there is a preference for traditional burial, as Christ was buried in the tomb, the Church has permitted cremation for over 50 years. Cremation should respect the human body and belief in the Resurrection. To respect the body as the temple of the Holy Spirit, the Church teaches that cremated remains should be kept together (not scattered or divided) and interred in a sacred burial space, preferably in the consecrated grounds of a Catholic Cemetery.

To learn more, please refer to the documents below:

• Instruction Ad resurgendum cum Christo – Regarding the Burial of the Deceased and the Conservation of the Ashes in the Case of Cremation – Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (click here)
• Cremation and the Order of Christian Funerals – U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) (click here)
• Proper Disposition of Bodily Remains – U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) (click here)

The preference is for cremation to occur following the funeral liturgy so that the body can be present for the vigil and funeral services. However, it is possible to have a funeral service with the cremated remains present.

The Catholic Church teaches that cremated remains should be kept together (not scattered or divided) to respect the body as a temple of the Holy Spirit and be laid to rest in a sacred burial space, preferably interred in the consecrated grounds of a Catholic cemetery.

“The cremated remains of a body should be treated with the same respect given to the human body from which they come. This includes the use of a worthy vessel to contain the ashes, the manner in which they are carried, and the care and attention to appropriate placement and transport, and the final disposition. The cremated remains should be buried in a grave or entombed in a mausoleum or columbarium. The practice of scattering cremated remains on the sea, from the air, or on the ground, or keeping cremated remains at the home of a relative or friend of the deceased are not the reverent disposition that the Church requires.” (Order of Christian Funerals no. 417)

Our cemeteries are sacred places for the living to memorialize their loved ones, with a variety of burial choices including personalized glass front niches and beautiful cremation burial sites.

Financial concerns should never stop one from choosing a place of permanent remembrance. As such, we also provide to people of all faiths the dignified placement of cremated remains at no cost to the family with our Crypt of All Souls Program.

In 2021, Colorado became the second state in the country to allow for “human body composting,” also referred to as natural organic reduction, which is a process that accelerates the biological decomposition of a deceased person’s body, turning it into soil.

Concerning Colorado’s Human Remains Natural Reduction Soil Bill (SB 21-006), the Colorado Catholic Conference, the united voice of the Catholic Bishops of Colorado, advised, “The Catholic Church teaches that human life and the human body are sacred, and the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral society. The conversion of human remains to soil does not promote human dignity. The Church’s objection is based on its belief that man is made in God’s image and likeness as a unified compositum of body and soul. While the Church does allow for cremation with limitations, the reduction of human remains into soil is not consistent with the Church’s theology of bodily resurrection and the promotion of human dignity […].”

“The guidance offered by the Congregation regarding burial and cremation reflects the Church’s overarching concern that due respect be shown to the bodily remains of the deceased in a way that gives visible witness to our faith and hope in the resurrection of the body. Unfortunately, the two most prominent newer methods for disposition of bodily remains that are proposed as alternatives to burial and cremation, alkaline hydrolysis and human composting, fail to meet this criterion.” (Proper Disposition of Bodily Remains no. 8 – U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops) 

(click here to learn more)

Alkaline hydrolysis, sometimes referred to as "water cremation," is a process that places a body into a metal tank containing a chemical mixture of water and alkali and then subjects it to both high temperature and high pressure in order to speed decomposition.

“The guidance offered by the Congregation regarding burial and cremation reflects the Church’s overarching concern that due respect be shown to the bodily remains of the deceased in a way that gives visible witness to our faith and hope in the resurrection of the body. Unfortunately, the two most prominent newer methods for disposition of bodily remains that are proposed as alternatives to burial and cremation, alkaline hydrolysis and human composting, fail to meet this criterion.” (Proper Disposition of Bodily Remains no. 8 – U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops)

“This procedure [alkaline hydrolysis] does not show adequate respect for the human body, nor express hope in the resurrection.” (Proper Disposition of Bodily Remains no. 10 – U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops) 

(click here to learn more)