Resurrection Chapel Mausoleum at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Wheeling was the first in the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston. On Friday, Oct. 3rd at 5:30pm, the diocese will host a blessing and celebration at the chapel to mark its 50th Anniversary of its dedication in 1975.
According to diocesan Archivist Jon-Erik Gilot, the first step toward the realization of the mausoleum was made in a letter from the diocese to Marble & Granite Company, New Orleans, inviting them to send representatives to meet with the advisory committee of Mt. Calvary Cemetery. On the strength of their presentation and letters of recommendation received from several dioceses, in which Acme had erected mausoleums, the contract with Acme was signed in October 1972, and ground broken in March 1974. Plans for the number of crypts expanded from 500 to 1,624.
Gilot further noted, on Oct. 4, 1975, Bishop Joseph H. Hodges presided over the blessing and dedication of Resurrection Chapel Mausoleum.
From the moment the doors opened to the large crowd that gathered at its dedication, the Mausoleum remains a place of beauty.. The polished marble interior and granite exterior present a stately building where visitors step respectfully into a space encouraging prayer and peaceful silence for their loved ones. The entrance area is framed in Ashlar Spanish Rose Granite, with large white Luna Pearl Granite Cross insets on either side of the entrance. The floor of the Mausoleum is of terrazzo.
In 1977, a breathtaking stained-glass window was added and installed by Hunt Stained Glass of Pittsburgh. The image is of the Risen Savior based on a design by Rev. Msgr. Frederick J. Schwertz, P.A., a longtime chancellor of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston.
Additional history, it was Bishop Richard Whelan who purchased the 39-acres on National Road in 1872, for the Catholic cemetery. Whelan personally oversaw the Mount Calvary Cemetery’s layout and design. The Bishop’s Chapel was built in 1879, and a house for the sexton (caretaker), chapel, and any other buildings on the grounds were added in 1883.Headshot is Rev. Msgr. Frederick J. Schwertz, P.A., who illustrated the Risen Lord stained-glass window.
