Hundreds flocked to local Catholic Cemeteries on Memorial Day for the field Masses that were offered for the repose of the souls interred on the grounds.

While these religious burial grounds serve as the final resting place for our relatives and friends, they also tell the history of the Church here in Brooklyn and Queens.

While visiting Holy Cross Cemetery in East Flatbush last week, I was able to come upon some interesting diocesan history. Bishop John Hughes of New York purchased the land for Holy Cross in 1849 when no more burials were being permitted in Manhattan. The first burial there took place on July 13, 1849. Father James McDonough of St. James parish became the first priest interred there in 1853.

Brooklyn’s first bishop, John Loughlin, expanded the grounds to meet the needs of the growing Catholic population. In 1855, he erected the Chapel of the Resurrection within the cemetery grounds.

Near the chapel lies the remains of the some of the first prominent Catholic families. Peter Turner, who is credited with forming the small band of early Catholics who petitioned the New York bishop for a parish of their own, is here. The parish became St. James Cathedral and is the first Catholic church to have been built on Long Island.

Only a few stones away from Turner lie members of the Purcell family, part of the original St. James parish, and Hugh McLaughlin, the first important Catholic political figure in Brooklyn.

On the opposite side of the chapel, I came across New York Auxiliary Bishop James Griffiths, who was a priest of the Brooklyn Diocese ordained as an auxiliary bishop of New York in 1949. He died in 1964.

A short walk away was the stone marking the grave of Brooklyn Auxiliary Raymond Kearney, who, according to the engraving, was ordained a bishop at the age of 32 in 1934 and died at 54 years of age in 1956.

Holy Cross also contains communal plots belonging to the Brooklyn Franciscan Brothers, the Brooklyn Sisters of Mercy, the De La Salle Christian Brothers, the Little Sisters of the Poor, the Nursing Sisters of the Poor, the Sisters Adorers of the Precious Blood and several other religious congregations.

Ironically, one of the smallest markers in the yard is one that simply reads “Keely,” for Patrick Charles Keely, designer and builder of the some of the largest church buildings in the diocese and on the East Coast.

The names of many of the founding pastors of the diocese can be found here, such as Father Joseph Bruneman, the first pastor of St. Mary Star of the Sea, Far Rockaway.

There are also prominent sportsmen like horse trainer “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons; Edward J. McKeever, who owned Ebbets Field; and Brooklyn Dodger and New York Mets’ great, Gil Hodges. On the day I visited, two small flags were planted at the Hodges’ site along with both Mets and Brooklyn Dodger baseball caps.

Some other famous folks in Holy Cross include Mae Gleason, Jackie’s mother; tycoon Diamond Jim Brady; and the notorious Willie Sutton, noted bank robber and jail escapee.

Holy Cross Cemetery is just one of the historical treasures of the Brooklyn Diocese. It serves as a reminder of the prominence of the Church in local society as well as a reminder of where we come from and to where we are going.