By Gregory A. Shemitz
For the third straight year, a historic New York City church has imported three sheep from an upstate New York farm to serve as organic lawn mowers in its two-century-old cemetery.
The woolly visitors graze on grass and weeds growing around the weather-eroded headstones and obelisks in the north graveyard of the Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral, a structure dedicated in 1815 and located in the Manhattan neighborhood of Nolita, for “North of Little Italy.”
Since their arrival on Aug. 7, the sheep roam on a half-acre plot of land that contains the graves of Civil War heroes, aristocrats and other citizens of 19th-century New York. The body of sainthood candidate Pierre Toussaint once rested here before the liberated slave’s remains were removed and transferred to the crypt at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in midtown in 1989.
Msgr. Donald Sakano, St. Patrick’s pastor, told Catholic News Service that the idea of bringing sheep to the cemetery was initiated in 2014.
“It started with a conversation I had with a groundskeeper who was planning to retire,” Msgr. Sakano recalled. “I joked, ‘What do you expect me to do now, get sheep?’ The second I said it I thought, ‘That might be a good idea,’ even though I knew nothing about sheep-keeping here in New York City.”
After weeks of research and conversations with the city’s health department, the first sheep arrived and were named Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh.
Catechetical Tool
In addition to helping maintain the grounds of the only Catholic cemetery in the borough of Manhattan, the sheep are a “good catechetical tool” for the parish, said Msgr. Sakano.
“It is the most referenced animal in the Bible,” he said, citing several examples, including the use of lambs for animal sacrifice, the ‘Lord is my shepherd’ psalm, and the metaphor of Christ as the lamb of God.
Six parishioners were trained to care for this year’s sheep, which have been named Faith, Hope and Charity. The animals are neutered males – ages 2, 4 and 5, respectively – and weigh an average of 87 pounds. The urban shepherds’ principle responsibility is to coax the rams into a shed at night.
To protect the sheep from intruders, the shed is secured and alarmed while they sleep; the cemetery grounds are under 24/7 video surveillance.
According to a parish consultant who oversees the sheeps’ visit, the cost of maintaining the animals is about $1,000, which covers transportation, city health department certifications, veterinary fees and supplemental food. St. Patrick’s uses the *Spotfund iPhone app (*SohoSheep) to solicit small donations to help offset the expenses.