Cremated remains should be treated with respect and deserve a final resting place.

Bishop Richard J. Malone will mark the Feast of All Souls by presiding at a committal service for unclaimed cremated remains at Holy Cross Cemetery in Lackawanna.

The service will be held on Monday, Nov. 2, at 4 p.m., outside Holy Trinity Mausoleum.  The cremated remains will be inurned in an exterior crypt titled Crypt of the Holy Angels with the inscription, "Eternal Rest Grant unto Them O Lord."

A similar service will be held Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 3 p.m., outside Ascension Chapel Mausoleum at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Kenmore, with Msgr. Francis Weldgen presiding.

The cremated remains have been held at area funeral homes for as long as 50 years in some cases.  The cremated remains will be catalogued in the event that family members make an inquiry.

The participating funeral homes are Amigone Funeral Home; Cannan Funeral Home; Curtin Funeral Home; James E. Grace Funeral Home; John J. Kaczor Funeral Home; Kolano Funeral Home; Lombardo Funeral Home; Thomas H. McCarthy Funeral Home; Pacer-Litwin Funeral Home; Thomas Reddington Funeral Home; John O. Roth Funeral Home and Stephan-Burns Funeral Home.

"It is appropriate that this service takes place now in conjunction with the upcoming Year of Mercy, as proclaimed by Pope Francis," said Carmen Colao, director of Catholic Cemeteries of Buffalo.  "Burial is a corporal work of mercy and the Catholic Church places emphasis on the reverent disposition of the cremated remains of the body.  Our hope is that families will come to realize that the proper, permanent place for cremated remains is in a cemetery."

Any questions regarding these committal services should be directed to Catholic Cemeteries of Buffalo at 873-6500.