San Lorenzo Cemetery - St. Augustine, FL
N 29° 52.346 W 081° 19.418
17R E 468746 N 3304693
The San Lorenzo Cemetery is located on U.S. Hwy 1 in St. Augustine, Florida, USA.
Waymark Code: WMARY4
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 02/20/2011
Views: 8
"The Franciscan Missionaries established the first Catholic cemetery in St. Augustine in the 1600s. Their burial ground was located next to the monastery – the current site of the National Guard headquarters.
In 1702, a new cemetery was erected in St. Augustine for the Catholic Guale and Timucuan Indians at the Tolomoto Indian Mission. An outbreak of yellow fever caused city officials to close the cemetery in 1884. A new cemetery was opened at the Mission Nombre de Dios next to the Chapel of Our Lady of La Leche. However, it was not considered an ideal burial location due to its proximity to the water’s edge.
The Diocese of Saint Augustine was established in 1870 and for the next 43 years, ten cemeteries were opened throughout northeast Florida. Many of these cemeteries are open today and are operated by parishes.
The oldest cemetery still operated by the diocese is San Lorenzo Cemetery in St. Augustine. Bishop John Moore opened the cemetery in 1892. Mary Murray was the first Catholic to be buried there on May 24, 1892. In 1913, the diocese opened St. Mary Cemetery in Korona, serving the Polish Catholics of Flagler and Volusia Counties. It too is open today and operated by the diocese.
In the early 1900s, families, not wanting to be separated in death, began moving their loved ones from the cemetery at Mission Nombre de Dios to San Lorenzo. A mortuary chapel was built in 1924 and today is a central feature of the cemetery located on U.S. Highway 1. Interred in the chapel are Bishops John Moore, William Kenny, Patrick Barry and Archbishop Joseph Hurley. Surrounding the chapel are the resting places of several of our diocesan priests and the Sisters of St. Joseph who have served in Florida since 1866. Many of the people who rest in San Lorenzo Cemetery are descendants of the 600 Minorcan refugees who arrived in St. Augustine in 1777.
For more than 100 years, families have come to San Lorenzo to celebrate Mass, offer novenas and pray for their deceased relatives and friends. With the legitimate rise in Catholics choosing to be cremated, San Lorenzo Cemetery offers traditional family plots, cremation gardens, columbarium niches and family mausoleums. They also sell monuments and offer a flower service for those unable to visit their loved ones."
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Although the Find A Grave website identifies 5,267 graves in this cemetery, we believe it is actually greater than that.