Woman shocked at the disappearance of her ancestor’s graves at Richmond Cemetery
Cynthia Costigan, who lives on the south shore of Montreal, was dismayed to find that, after researching her family ancestry, her journey to the past hit a dead-end in Richmond’s Stbibiane cemetery. At least twenty of her family’s tombstones had simply vanished, while others were found broken, or even used to prop up the foundations of a nearby building.
For ten years now, Costigan has been researching her family ancestry with the help of a genealogist, tracing back her lineage both here in North America and in Ireland. A couple of years ago, her research led her to Richmond, where she found out much of her family had been buried.
“When I found out, I took my 90-yearold dad out to Richmond. He had never been,” she said. “We drove all that way and didn’t find a single tombstone. Dad was very upset. I left him in the car and walked all around, looking at all the names, but I never found them.”
Costigan’s father passed away the following year. Ever since that trip, however, she has been trying to figure out what happened to her family’s stones, and remains. She took several trips back to the cemetery to investigate, and finally, when she went out there with a friend of hers, she found something that horrified them both: three of her bloodrelatives tombstones were being used to prop up the foundation what is locally known as ‘the Summer Church’.
“I was appalled, so was my friend. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” said Costigan. Ironically, one of the stones bears the inscription ‘May their Souls Rest in Peace’, a fact that was not lost on the distraught woman. “If I had known what we would find, I never would have brought my 90-year-old father on that long car ride.”
She reported sending out dozens of letters and phone calls to the cemetery, the Sherbrooke diocese, even the areas representative for the Pope.
“I received no apologies for what happened, only a letter from the representative. It felt like they don’t really care,” said Costigan, adding that when she asked for answers, she was left unsatisfied. “They kept talking in circles, no straight answers. They even told me things that completely contradicted themselves.”
When The Record reached out to the Archdiocese of Sherbrooke, their communications person, Eliane Thibault, said that though she sympathizes with Costigan’s shock, situations like hers are quite common.
“I was shocked myself when I first heard. I was very concerned, but after extended research with my colleagues, we found that it’s a pretty common practice. It happens. It’s even sort of normal,” commented Thibault. “In this case, we believe that the bodies are found in a mass grave. When the old cemetery closed, in the 1950s, all unclaimed lots were cleared, the tombstones discarded, and the bodies buried together.”
Again, Thibault stressed that the occurrence is not uncommon. She explained that cemetery lots are rented out, typically for around 50 years. If no one lays claim to the lots or pays rent, the cemetery sends out a notice.
“They would put a notice for about a month to 90 days in newspapers and such, to allow surviving family members to claim the lot. It’s like an apartment,” she illustrated. “If no one occupies the space, or if the residents don’t pay rent, well, they’re vacated and someone else takes the room. The church can’t afford to wait 60, 75 years for someone to claim the lots. It wouldn’t be sustainable.”
Thibault assured that the mass grave burial would have been done formally, by the church, with the utmost respect. She took care, however, to point out that cemeteries are not under the responsibility of the diocese. They are handled by local parishes, independently. As for the stones used as foundation props, she says that that too, is quite common.
“Especially back then, people would find materials anywhere, use anything they could get their hands on. Once the stones are unclaimed and taken out of the cemetery, they can wind up in all kinds of places,” she explained, adding that she too had a similar experience where she found her husband’s ancestors tombstone in an antique store, repurposed.
Costigan, however, is far from convinced. She has heard the mass grave theory many times, and insists that something fishy is going on, though she can’t prove it.
“I asked for a listing of the mass grave. They don’t have one. Another time I called, and they told me that my family wasn’t buried in the grave. If they don’t have a list of who’s in the grave, how can they say that? It makes no sense.”
As for her family not claiming the lots, Costigan doubts that that is possible: “My last Costigan relative passed in 1913. Their lot wouldn’t have expired, yet the grave isn’t there.”
“My great-grandfather and grandfather both lived in Richmond in the 60s. They worked for the railway, they were well known. There’s no way they would have allowed our family’s graves to be treated like that. They would have been easy to contact.”
“The whole thing is insulting and disrespectful,” said Costigan. “And another horrible thing is that those graves are expensive; they belonged to someone, someone paid for them.”
Costigan is still trying to find answers. She has joined the Richmond Facebook page and is talking with locals to try and figure things out. According to her, the whole affair is causing quite a stir.
“I’m sorry to say it, but my respect for the Catholic faith is gone after this,” she said. “Something’s not Kosher. I was raised Catholic, but I’m upset with the church.”