Funerals

Please contact the parish office at (501) 663-8632 to make funeral arrangements.  In addition to traditional funeral Masses and burial services, the parish now offers interment in the Garden Columbarium.

Garden Columbarium
In our ancestors' day, the deceased of a parish were buried in "God's Acre" surrounding the church where they had worshiped.  The remains were interred in this consecrated ground with a simple dignified ceremony.  Stone markers symbolically honored the life and faith of the departed, while serving as reminders to the living of their own mortality.

Now, within our crowded contemporary urban environment, this practice is almost impossible.  However, the concept of burial at church is in revival.  The idea is so appealing that many churches are providing columbaria for the cremated remains of departed members.  The church is, once again, the central site for the major milestones of life:  Baptism, confirmation, marriage, death and burial as well.

In returning to the idea of burial at the church, The Clergy and Parish Council of Our Lady of Holy Souls Church have established a Garden Columbarium in which the cremated remains of the dead may be placed.

The Columbarium is located in a garden between the Eucharistic Chapel and the Rectory.  Its peaceful setting, amidst flowering shrubs, trees and winding paths, serves as the final resting place of the faithful departed.  It is a place to remember their lives and to celebrate the glory of God.

An interment at Holy Souls Garden Columbarium is handled with the greatest love and dignity, and the minimum outlay of money.

The objective of the Parish is not to encourage cremation, but to provide an affordable, consecrated final resting place for the faithful departed.  Cremation is a personal matter to be decided within the family.

When cremation is selected, actual requirements of a funeral home are few.  Under Arkansas Law, a funeral home must be used to sign for the death certificate.  As additional duties by a funeral home are added, prices increase.  Prices for cremation may vary.  These arrangements should be discussed with the funeral home of your choice.

Please call the Church office with any questions regarding interment arrangements at (501) 663-8632.