Among rolling hills, lush green trees and flowers sits the new Pavilion Estates at Fairfax Memorial Park Cemetery in Fairfax. Bishop Michael F. Burbidge blessed the cemetery addition April 16.
Bishop Burbidge opened the ceremony by thanking the Fairfax Memorial Park staff and addressing those gathered.
“It is a great honor, friends, to join you in faith, our faith that allows us to call upon God’s blessing upon these beautiful grounds,” he said. “We ask the Lord to grant us consolation and healing for all those who will bury their loved ones here, and entrust them to God’s infinite love and mercy.”
The cemetery began the 6,646-square-foot project in 2021. The new addition rests atop a grassy hill and features three tiers of family lawn crypts for private burial and cremation. The adjacent columbarium offers 292 single or double niches. A large stone gazebo overlooks the cemetery and provides benches for loved ones of the deceased to sit, pray and contemplate.
Bishop Burbidge offered a prayer of blessing upon the Pavilion Estates. “God of all consolation, by your just decree our bodies return to the dust from which they were shaped, yet in your mercy you have turned this condition of darkness and death into a proof of your loving care,” he prayed. “Send down your Holy Spirit upon these new Pavilion Estates, as we invoke the power of your blessing. May it be a place of rest and hope.”
Bishop Burbidge processed around the Pavilion Estates, sprinkling the pavilion, lawn crypts, benches and columbarium with holy water.
Cathy Youngkin, funeral director, said that the addition contributes to the cemetery’s tranquility. “The perimeter of the Pavilion Estates is laden in stone and each of the estates are meticulously manicured with hedges and beautiful flower beds that are rotated annually to keep the site fresh and attractive,” she said.
“Due to high demand for premium burial and cremation options, this (Pavilion Estates) is our response,” said Carriage Services Managing Partner Victor Holland. “We are honored to be able to provide these options to the community.”
Youngkin said that in 2025, Fairfax Memorial will construct a “Rosary Garden” addition to the cemetery. “The Rosary Garden, which will be shaped in the rosary’s image, is our way of honoring the Virgin Mary and all Catholics.”
