By Andrew Winter
1.
The first man buried on the site of what is now Calvary Catholic Cemetery was named Michael Shea. That same year, the first Catholic buried in Lincoln, Henry Armon, joined him. At first, Calvary belonged to St. Theresa Procathedral, and was called St. Theresa Cemetery.
2.
It was in 1930 that the Lincoln Diocese acquired Calvary from what is now Butherus, Maser & Love Funeral Home. To this day, it is the only cemetery belonging expressly to the Catholic Diocese of Lincoln.
3.
Bishop Louis Kucera established the Diocesan Department of Catholic Cemeteries in 1941, but since no cemetery ever joined Calvary under the umbrella of diocesan administration, the department became defunct fairly quickly.
4.
Standing near the center of the cemetery is a marble scene of the Crucifixion, featuring 5-foot statues of Jesus on the Cross, the Blessed Virgin, Mary Magdalene, and John the Apostle. The statues were made in Italy in 1933. They stand on a large concrete platform in which the former bishops of the Lincoln Diocese were buried before they were moved to the Cathedral of the Risen Christ, which was dedicated in 1965.
5.
Among the many graves at Calvary lies the body of Victor Vifquain, a native Belgian who moved to Nebraska in 1857, and received the Medal of Honor during the Civil War. He started out as a private in the 53rd New York Infantry, and rose to the rank of brigadier general. He also served as the Consul General to Panama, and fought in the Spanish American War. He died in Lincoln in 1904.
6.
On the far side of the cemetery from Victor Vifquain, the body of Nathan Raun rests. The son of Teresa and Chris Raun of Lincoln, Nathan died of a brain tumor in 1998. A year later, Father Sean Kilcawley entered the seminary for the Diocese of Lincoln and spent the summer working at Calvary Cemetery. Father Kilcawley said in the summer of 1999, he prayed asking Nathan’s intercession for his younger brother, Kevin, who had been struggling with various aspects of life and was about the same age as Nathan. Three years later, Kevin spent the summer in Lincoln and had a conversion. He spent the next two years living with Nathan’s family and graduated from Pius X High School.
7.
A group of Lebanese families from Lincoln funded the building of a mausoleum in 1984. They named it after St. Charbel, a Lebanese monk-saint, and provided relics of Charbel for the altar in the Mausoleum. Today Mass is celebrated in St. Charbel Chapel every Friday at 12:15 p.m.
8.
A perpetual care fund will keep the grounds of Calvary Cemetery beautiful forever. The fund was established by the diocese more than 100 years ago.
9.
The cemetery hosts Veterans Day celebrations every year, as well as All Souls Day Mass Nov. 2 and a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in winter. Calvary’s biggest annual event is the Memorial Day Mass, celebrated outdoors by the bishop on Memorial Day. This tradition goes back at least to 1938, when Bishop Kucera celebrated a Mass at the Crucifixion group statues.
