Catholics remember their loved ones

From lunchtime, there was a steady stream of visitors entering Lapeyrouse Cemetery, Woodbrook. Among them was 82-year-old John DeVerteuil, from St Ann’s.

He brought a wreath to the grave of his wife Elaine, who died 18 years ago. Since then he has visited her grave every year for All Saints and All Souls.

Elderly sisters, Rita and May Harper, have also kept up the tradition of cleaning and maintaining the graves of their parents Frederick and Josephine.

"Our deceased parents were very good to us. It’s right I should show my gratitude to them. If I don’t get anyone to clean, I do it myself. I painted," Rita said as she cleaned paint off her shoes.

The sisters said they would return today to light their parents’ graves for All Souls.

Two sisters from Arima, who chose to remain unnamed, said they took care of the grave site of their grandfather and grandmother because they believed in the resurrection of the dead.

"It is a way of showing respect. If you don’t know where you came from you don’t know where you are going. We would not be who we are if it were not for those who laboured to give us a foundation," one of the sisters said.

She said there would not be so much violence if more young people remembered their past. "The end of violence starts with respect."

A worker with the Port-of-Spain Corpora-tion said in the past 20 years the number of people coming to the cemetery has dropped. He recalled the days when Catholic groups doing novenas brought food and wine.

Today, he said the cemetery has become a haven for homeless people and this was a reason families were staying away. There were two police officers posted at the cemetery which will remain open until 10 pm.

There was a noticeable absence of young people at grave sites. DeVerteuil told Newsday that he did not know who would look after his wife’s grave after he died while the Harpers said they expected their nephews and nieces to continue the custom.

All Saints is a holy day observed by Western churches on November 1 and Eastern churches on the first Sunday after Pentecost.

It honours all saints of the Church including the people whose names are not known but who died in faith. The observance originated in the 4th century as the Feast of All Martyrs. For today’s feast of All Souls candles will be lit at grave sites and prayers offered up for departed souls so that they may be received into Heaven.

According to one Internet site, the theological basis for this is the doctrine that souls departing from the body are not perfectly cleansed from venial sins or have not fully atoned for past transgressions and the faithful on Earth can help them by praying and offering up a mass.