The Cemetery of the Holy Rood is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

located in

Westbury, New York The Incorporated Village of Westbury is a village in the Town of North Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. It is located about east of Manhattan. The population was 15,404 at the 2020 census. History The firs ...

. The cemetery, established in 1930, is part of the Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre.

History

Cemetery of the Holy Rood Section 7 2021a

Cemetery of the Holy Rood Section 20 2021

Cemetery of the Holy Rood Sections 7-6 2021

Cemetery of the Holy Rood September 11 Section 2021b

The oldest part of the cemetery was originally the burial grounds of Saint Brigid's Cemetery (formerly a part of Saint Brigid's Roman Catholic Church), a cemetery founded in 1856 that was eventually absorbed into the assets-management of Cemetery of the Holy Rood or Catholic Cemeteries. In the 1930s, the then-

Diocese of Brooklyn The Diocese of Brooklyn is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the U.S. state of New York. It is headquartered in Brooklyn and its territory encompasses the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. ...

established a cemetery named for the Holy Rood. The grounds of the cemetery are considered part of the greater

Hempstead Plains The Hempstead Plains is a region of central Long Island, in what is now Nassau County, in New York State. It was once an open expanse of native grassland estimated to once extend to about . It was separated from the North Shore of Long Island by ...

. In 1956, with the creation of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, Holy Rood Cemetery's jurisdiction was transferred to the newly formed diocese.Richard Panchyk
''History of Westbury, Long Island''
The History Press, 2007, p. 133. In 1998, the Diocese of Rockville Centre caused a certain amount of controversy when it announced that mementos and toys could no longer be left on children's graves. Even though leaving such items on graves was always in violation of cemetery rules, officials had previously turned a blind eye to the practice in the children's section. On March 1, 2016 the Diocese created a new corporation, Catholic Cemeteries of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre, Inc. On September 1, 2017 the assets of the former corporation were delivered to the new corporation along with the staff members entering the corporation on January 1, 2018. In February 2018 the newly formed corporation received its first appointed President Richard Bie.

The Island of Hope

The cemetery contains a triangular grassy area called "The Island of Hope" for the burials of abandoned babies, nearly all of whom are the victims of

neonaticide Neonaticide is the deliberate act of a parent murdering their own child during the first 24 hours of life. As a noun, the word "neonaticide" may also refer to anyone who practices or who has practiced this. Neonaticide is relatively rare in ...

. It is owned by the Children of Hope Foundation, founded by Tim Jaccard, an ambulance medical technician with the Nassau County Police, to pay for funerals and marked graves for abandoned babies and children. As of 2007, 88 children were buried there.Peter Applebome
"A Resting Place Incongruously Called Hope"
''The New York Times'', March 8, 2006

Notable burials

* Billy Murray, singer (1877–1954) *

Licia Albanese Licia Albanese (July 22, 1909 – August 15, 2014) was an Italian-born American operatic soprano. Noted especially for her portrayals of the lyric heroines of Verdi and Puccini, Albanese was a leading artist with the Metropolitan Opera from 1940 ...

(1909–2014), Italian-born American operatic soprano * Carl Braun, New York Knicks, professional basketball player (d. 2010) *

James Joseph Brown James Joseph "J.J." Brown (September 27, 1854 – September 5, 1922), was an American mining engineer, inventor, and self-made member of fashionable "society". His wife was RMS ''Titanic'' survivor Margaret Brown. Early life Brown was born in ...

, mining engineer * "Unsinkable Molly" Brown, survivor of the RMS ''Titanic'' sinking and estranged wife of James Joseph Brown * William J. Casey, former Director of Central IntelligenceDavid Winzelberg
"From Here to Eternity: Choice Burial Sites"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', November 14, 1999 *

Oleg Cassini Oleg Cassini (11 April 1913 – 17 March 2006) was a fashion designer born to an aristocratic Russian family with maternal Italian ancestry. He came to the United States as a young man after starting as a designer in Rome, and quickly got ...

, fashion designer *

Bob Chipman Robert Howard Chipman (October 11, 1918 – November 8, 1973) was an American professional baseball player, a left-handed pitcher who spent all or parts of a dozen seasons in the Major League Baseball from 1941 to 1952 for the Brooklyn Dodgers, ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player *

Don Dunphy Don Dunphy (July 5, 1908 – July 22, 1998) was an American television and radio sports announcer specializing in boxing broadcasts. Dunphy was noted for his fast-paced delivery and enthusiasm for the sport. It is estimated that he did "blow-by ...

, boxing announcer * Peter J. Ganci, Jr., FDNY Chief of Department (d. 9/11/2001) * Tom Gorman,

pitcher * Monsignor Thomas Hartman, (1946-2016), Roman Catholic Priest, Founder, President & CEO Telecare, author *

Max Hirsch Maximilian Justice "Max" Hirsch (July 12, 1880 - April 3, 1969) was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. Born in Fredericksburg, Texas, and raised Roman Catholic, Hirsch became one of the most successful trainers in Thorou ...

(1880–1969), American Hall of Fame racehorse trainer * William J. Hirsch (1909–1997), American Hall of Fame racehorse trainer *

George C. Lang George Charles Lang (April 20, 1947 – March 16, 2005) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the Vietnam War. Biography Lang joined the ...

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...

recipient *

Joseph Lannin Joseph John Lannin (April 23, 1866 – May 15, 1928) was a Canadian-born American baseball entrepreneur. He was the sole owner of the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball for most of the 1914 through 1916 seasons, during which the team won two W ...

, former owner of the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

Frank McCormick Frank Andrew McCormick (June 9, 1911 – November 21, 1982) was an American baseball first baseman who played fifteen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed "Buck" in honor of Frank Buck, he played for the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelph ...

, (1911-1982), Major League Baseball player *Jay Monahan, television personality, husband of TV host Katie Couric * Cliff Montgomery, American football player (d. 4/21/2005) *

Orio Palmer Orio Joseph Palmer (March 2, 1956 – September 11, 2001) was a Battalion Chief of the New York City Fire Department who died while rescuing civilians trapped inside the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Palmer led the team of firefighters ...

, FDNY firefighter (d. 9/11/2001) * John Serry, (1915-2003), Italian-American musician and composer * George M. Skurla, (1921-2001), aeronautical engineer, President Grumman Corporation *

Terig Tucci Terig Tucci (June 23, 1897 – February 28, 1973) was an Argentine composer, violinist, pianist, and mandolinist. Tucci was born in Buenos Aires, in 1897. His first composition, “Cariños de madre” was performed for a zarzuela at the ...

, composer and musician *

John W. Wydler John Waldemar Wydler (June 9, 1924 – August 4, 1987) was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from New York. Wydler was born in Brooklyn. He served in the United States Army Air Corps from 1942 until 1945. He grad ...

, (1918-1955) member of the United States House of Representatives *

Sam Zoldak Samuel Walter Zoldak, nicknamed Sad Sam, (December 8, 1918 – August 25, 1966) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine seasons in the American League with the St. Louis Browns, Cleveland I ...

, (1918-1966), Major League Baseball player

References

External links

Official site
* {{coord, 40, 45, 03, N, 73, 35, 04, W, display=title Roman Catholic cemeteries in New York (state) Cemeteries in Nassau County, New York Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre 1930 establishments in New York (state)