Queen of Heaven Cemetery represents the first of the “modern” cemeteries in the Archdiocese of Chicago. These sacred cemetery grounds were consecrated in 1947 and span 470 acres. The Cemetery has over 200,000 interments (as of 12/31/22).
Queen of Heaven is home to the largest Catholic Mausoleum in the world. The Cemetery also features the Cremation Garden of St. Gabriel (the second cremation garden in the Archdiocese of Chicago) as well as outdoor crypt complexes: Christ the King, Crucifixion Garden Crypts, and Resurrection Garden Crypts, which feature outdoor above-ground burial spaces for full-body and cremated remains.
QUEEN OF HEAVEN COMMUNITY MAUSOLEUM
The Mausoleum at Queen of Heaven Cemetery was the first of its kind in the Chicagoland area, it is also the world’s largest Catholic Mausoleum. The Mausoleum itself is three stores tall and comprises three buildings, all physically connected: Queen of Heaven, Queen of Angels, and Queen of All Saints.
The Mausoleum opened in three stages:
Queen of Heaven, with approximately 6,900 crypts, in 1957
Queen of Angels, with approximately 8,500 crypts in 1960
Queen of All Saints, with approximately 15,000 crypts in 1964
The Mausoleum complex sits on approximately 3 acres of land and accommodates approximately 31,000 crypts for full-size entombments and over 900 niches for cremated remains.
The Mausoleum serves as one of the world’s great museums of religious art by containing 92 first class relics, 227 stained glass windows, 60 marble statues, intricate mosaics, exotic hardwoods and 125 types of marble. There are over 200 scriptural quotations hand painted on the walls throughout the Mausoleum. The artwork was created by an array of local and international artists, including a few from the Chicagoland area, Italy, and Ireland, among others.
The central feature of the Mausoleum is Our Lady’s Chapel, which at first glance may look like a regular chapel, but flanking the sides of the chapel are glass front niches for cremated remains and crypts along the side walls. This style of entombment echoes early Christian traditions, when it was believed that the closer to the altar you were laid to rest, the easier it would be to get into Heaven.