Are all Catholic churches cemeteries?

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It’s November and I’ve been thinking about the plenary indulgence for visiting a cemetery. All our altars contain relics. I’m pretty confident that this makes them the final resting place of those saints and technically a cemetery. I always have the general intention of receiving all indulgences available to me. During daily masses I pray for both the dead and the pope. Lately I go to confession every month. I can’t be sure I have no attachment to sin, but if I did, I think I probably got 7 souls released from purgatory. Thoughts?
 
Sorry. I tried to make the topic a question. Wrong question.
Is my parish church ( which has relics in the altar) a cemetery?
 
RitasKid said:
It’s November and I’ve been thinking about the plenary indulgence for visiting a cemetery. All our altars contain relics. I’m pretty confident that this makes them the final resting place of those saints and technically a cemetery. I always have the general intention of receiving all indulgences available to me. During daily masses I pray for both the dead and the pope. Lately I go to confession every month. I can’t be sure I have no attachment to sin, but if I did, I think I probably got 7 souls released from purgatory. Thoughts?
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The grant in the Enchiridion for a plenary indulgence for visiting a cemetery is specific to November 1-8.

Beyond this point, no…the fact that there are relics in the church does not make the church a cemetery. The relic of the saint in the altar is normally only a small fragment of their body. The saint’s final resting place is where their body rests – from whence this small fragment was extracted.

That said, in America there are several churches which have the entire body of a saint or blessed…such as the Basilica of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Maryland, which has her remains or the Church of St. Peter in Philadelphia where possesses the body of Saint John Neumann. The motherhouses of the Sisters of Providence and the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament – in Saint Mary of the Woods, Indiana, and Bensalem, Pennsylvania – respectively have the bodies of Saint Theodore Guerin and Saint Katharine Drexel.

All the places, except the church where Saint John Neumann’s body is enshrined, do have a cemetery on the convent grounds…but those cemeteries are physically distinct from the churches associated with them.

I would suggest it is better to be devoted to and pray for the souls in purgatory without trying to know the result of your prayers…except that you can be assured that the souls you assist will always be grateful to you for the charity of your prayers.
 
That was a good explanation and a little of the information I didn’t know before. I am always learning little bits here and there here in the forum. Thank you.🙂
 
I’ll bet that a fair number of cathedrals have crypts in which remains of prior bishops / cardinals are interred. Not sure if that would qualify them as cemeteries for purposes of the indulgence, however.
 
RitasKid said:
It’s November and I’ve been thinking about the plenary indulgence for visiting a cemetery. All our altars contain relics. I’m pretty confident that this makes them the final resting place of those saints and technically a cemetery. I always have the general intention of receiving all indulgences available to me. During daily masses I pray for both the dead and the pope. Lately I go to confession every month. I can’t be sure I have no attachment to sin, but if I did, I think I probably got 7 souls released from purgatory. Thoughts?
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I don’t know about your question about cemeteries but your desire to gain indulgences caught my eye… Look at this…

Prayer for Poor souls… (I think he said it to Saint Gertrude…)

Jesus said if we pray this prayer 1,000 souls from purgatory are released: “Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.”

***with this little prayer said multiple times a day… how many souls can we help release?
 
RitasKid said:
Sorry. I tried to make the topic a question. Wrong question.
Is my parish church ( which has relics in the altar) a cemetery?
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Relics are only tiny pieces of a Saints body, not the final resting place for the Saint, so I doubt very much if one could all a Church a cemetery! I have never heard of that before! God Bless, Memaw
 
Casilda said:
They should, or at least the priest should have an antimin
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The General Instruction of the Roman Missal answers this point:

302. The practice of the deposition of relics of Saints, even those not Martyrs, under the altar to be dedicated is fittingly retained. However, care should be taken to ensure the authenticity of such relics.

An antimension could be piously used but it is not required. Antimensions are from the East and are not Latin. In the Latin Rite, the relics properly are sepulchered into the altar mensa.
 
After thinking about all these ideas, I’m more inclined to think that any presence of human remains is enough to obtain the indulgence… The church is very exact about requirements for things; she has specific minima, but is always generous with interpretations. She really wants people to receive spiritual benefits. I believe that the pope would agree with me.
 
No, all Catholic churches are not cemeteries. The Enchiridion of Indulgences says the plenary indulgence for a visit to a cemetery but also says that a visit to the catacombs is only a partial indulgence. Therefore, a church with just a relic would not be considered a cemetery. Besides, the indulgence for visiting a cemetery is applicable to the souls in Purgatory - it is granted to you for them, not for you.
 
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