Catholic Cemeteries Are Self-Sustaining
When a family chooses a CCA cemetery for the interment of a deceased loved one, they have an expectation that their loved one is entrusted to an institution
whose mission is the corporal work of mercy of burying the dead. This expectation and trust extends to the level of care and maintenance of their cemetery. While the
CCA faces many new challenges in our continued effort to maintain your cemeteries and to continue making improvements, we are determined to meet those challenges
and live up to the expectations of our families.
The CCA continues to work diligently to improve your Catholic cemeteries and
continuously invests the income generated through the sale of graves, crypts,
memorials, vaults and other items into your sacred places. Each year the
CCA uses the resources provided by our families to make necessary infrastructure
repairs and improve the overall appearance of each of our Catholic cemeteries.
Trees have been planted, streams created, new ponds dug, buildings repaired and
roads paved. While much has been accomplished, much remains to be done.
CCA management is careful with the income generated from the sale of interment
rights and other products and services and due to the size of our organization,
is limited in the number of projects it can complete annually.
Many families with loved ones interred in a CCA cemetery may not realize that
their Catholic cemeteries stand on their own, they are self-sustaining.
The term self-sustaining is defined in the Webster Merriam Dictionary as 1:
maintaining or able to maintain oneself or itself by independent effort <a
self–sustaining community> 2: maintaining or able to maintain
itself once commenced <a self–sustaining nuclear reaction>.
We are often surprised to discover how many families are not aware that their
cemetery is self-sustaining. Few understand the financial separation
between the Diocese of Cleveland and the CCA and assume that the CCA receives
financial support from the Diocese. As a Catholic institution, the CCA is
under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Cleveland and serves as an integral part
of Diocesan life. While the Diocese recognizes the needs of our Catholic
cemeteries and oversees our fiscal viability, it does not absolve us from being
responsible for our own financial obligations. Furthermore, the CCA does
not pay an assessment to the Diocese.
The CCA manages eighteen of the forty Catholic cemeteries in the Diocese of
Cleveland. The CCA employs over 170 full time employees who
maintain approximately 1900 acres of cemetery land, 34 miles of roads, over 60
buildings, including maintenance facilities, office buildings and mausoleums.
As an organization, the CCA is responsible to 750,000 families with loved ones
interred in a CCA cemetery. Every dollar generated through the sale of
interment space, granite memorials, vaults and other items is spent taking care
of our cemeteries for our families.
As a self-sustaining institution, we rely on our families to purchase their
interment and memorialization needs from us. The more income that is
generated, the more we can invest and improve your cemeteries and ensure the
future of your sacred places.
Andrej Lah
Director, Catholic Cemeteries Association