Participants prayerfully reflect on the four last things: death, judgment, heaven and hell
Southern Nebraska Register
Fifteen adult actors and more than 25 support staff are preparing for the fourth annual “Back From the Dead” (BFTD) cemetery walk at Calvary Catholic Cemetery, 3880 L St., Lincoln.
This late-October event is scheduled near Halloween to help walkers prayerfully reflect on the four last things: death, judgment, heaven and hell. Attendees confront their mortality and are encouraged to prepare for death through teachings and warnings of the saints, and other figures from the past.
Adults and older teens (15 and up) are invited to the walk. Participants are guided through the cemetery and encounter actors dressed as martyrs, saints, and others who have fictitiously come “back from the dead” to encourage people to live holy lives in accordance with Christ’s teachings.
Primarily, the event is a half-mile walk, held outdoors, in the dark, with a guide. The duration of the walk is approximately one hour and 20 minutes.
Walks will take place Oct. 23, 24, 26, and 27. Slots of 15 guests are available, departing from the cemetery’s St. Charbel Chapel at 6:15, 6:30, 6:45, 7:00, 7:15 and 7:30 p.m. on each date.
Organizers caution the walk is not handicapped-accessible and may feel strenuous. People with poor night vision should not attend.
Two indoor events with no walking are available on All Saint’s Day, Nov. 1, at 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. These performances will take place in the St. Charbel Chapel. The chapel is handicapped accessible.
SNR photos from 2025 | Natalie Bender
More than 500 people registered for last year’s “sell-out” walk. The “Back From the Dead” cemetery walk is free, but space is limited. Participants must have a ticket to attend. To sign up for the event, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to receive a Sign-up Genius link to reserve departure date and time. Free-will offerings will be accepted.
In the peaceful setting of the cemetery, actors along the path teach about God’s providence, mercy and love, as well as the courage of the martyrs, the holiness of the saints, and the reality that one could lose their soul. The walk is a living catechesis, based on the Catholic Faith, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the living tradition of the saints. It has been described as reverent, inspiring, and thought-provoking.
Jen Overkamp, who played the part of St. Teresa of Avila on the walk in 2023, reflected on the way the walk combines the dramatic arts with the Catholic Faith.
“‘Back from the Dead’ is a beautiful blending of Catholic Tradition with modern theater,” she said. “It brings people back to the spiritual origin of Halloween – reflecting on death and on those who have gone before us – in an innovative, immersive way. It is unforgettable.”
Dr. John Pepino has acted on the walk for the last two years, first as the North American Martyr St. John de Brebeuf, and second as St. John Henry Newman. He is returning for his third year as Frederic Ozanam, the founder of the St. Vincent de Paul Society.
“Playing these roles allows me to get into the skin of people, who before being saints, were men of flesh and blood like me. It has helped me more viscerally grasp that holiness is worked out in the here and now, in our actual life on earth, and that all sorts of people are called to it. It gives me hope.”
Priests will be available to hear confessions each evening/afternoon of the event on the cemetery grounds.
While some characters from the 2025 walk will return, most of the people walkers meet are new to the walk. Msgr. Timothy Thorburn, of the Diocese of Lincoln, has reviewed and approved all scripts used on the walk.
The BFTD walk was created by Father Brian Nolan of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, the current pastor of St. Ignatius of Loyola Church, in Ijamsville, Md. Father Nolan graduated from Mt. St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md. in 2001, and was ordained a Catholic priest that same year.
As a seminarian in Emmitsburg, Nolan read “The Saints Show Us Christ” by Father Rawley Myers – ordained a priest of the Diocese of Lincoln – and was especially moved by the life of North American Martyr St. Isaac Jogues. Jogues was imprisoned, tortured, and killed by Iroquios Indians and was buried in Auriesville, N.Y., just six hours from where Nolan was studying for the priesthood. Nolan felt a special draw to tell Jogues’s story and relate other engaging saints’ stories as well.
During his seminarian pastoral year in 1996, Nolan went on a Haunted Hayride with a youth group. After a brief welcome to the ride, attendees were asked to sign their souls over to the devil. Nolan refused. But looked at the book and saw that members of his group had signed it earlier. He knew this type of walk was damaging, and longed for something more: A Christian Halloween.
As a new priest, Father Nolan became chaplain for McDaniel College in Westminister, Md., in 2002. He found himself fielding questions from college students on demons, angels, death and more. Father realized he could use the lives of the saints to help the students understand what the Church calls “The Last Things”: death, judgement, heaven and hell. He decided to tell the story of St. Isaac Jogues and the North American Martyrs, the saints that had inspired him so much. His script ended with the death of two valiant priests and the beautiful line: “At the end of this life, they closed their eyes to the things of this world and then opened their eyes to the face of God.”
Nolan went on to write a script about St. Teresa of Avila who had a vision of Hell, and to use the writings and visions of St. Catherine of Genoa to write a script for purgatory. A script about heaven was especially challenging: not only trying to describe the unwritten, but to cast an actor who exuded true, deep joy.
Other scripts followed.
The first time Father Nolan did a cemetery walk was at St. Anthony’s cemetery near the grotto at Mt. St. Mary’s Seminary. The actors and attendees were mostly seminarians; the scripts were written from spiritual readings and lives of the saints. It took seven years to refine the scripts and receive imprimaturs on the writings. Eventually, the walk moved to the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Shrine in Emmitsburg. Over the past 15 years, more than 10,000 people at the shrine have attended the walk.
Father Nolan said he strives to creatively evangelize: speaking the truth with both charity and clarity; talking about challenging subjects in a way people can receive them. He wants to call people to live in light of eternity – to help people follow Jesus completely and fully.
“We talk about death-bed conversions,” Nolan said, “but they are not so common. As you live is usually how you die.”
