Catholic Parish Cemeteries Association of the Diocese of Pittsburgh

"Even one star is too many for this organization. I attended my mother-in-law’s funeral yesterday and was outraged by the state of the cemetery plot upon our arrival. The gravesite had not been properly prepared. (There was a pile of dirt next to the open grave, which was full of water and had an orange traffic cone sitting inside.) A cemetery association worker, who was just showing up when the family arrived made an extremely inappropriate comment regarding this “just being a cremation”. My wife and her sister, as well as my father-in-law and my mother-in-law’s 92 year old mom and approx 75-100 family and friends had already gathered when 2 men arrived (late) and proceeded to scoop water out of the grave with a Pepsi bottle. How unprofessional is that? Even the priest was visibly upset at the lack of dignity shown to one of his parishioners. Several family members returned to their vehicles to get towels to soak up water left in the hole and someone got a blanket to cover the pile of mud and grass next to the open hole. This was the most disgraceful burial I have ever attended. Unless you feel very strongly about being buried in a Catholic cemetery, I would suggest you look elsewhere. Finally, my wife and her sister tried to post negative reviews of this experience with a photo and their reviews were removed but one of the employees we dealt with was able to leave a 5 star review to falsely inflate their ratings."

"Today I attended my brothers wife funeral at the St. Columbkille Cemetery. I have never seen a more denigrating, disrespectful or poorly executed plot preparation. When we arrive for the grave side service the hole was a muddy mess, filled with 6-8in of water and an old traffic cone. The sod and dirt were just thrown to the side in a muddy heap. When we approached a grounds person about the abhorrent conditions, his response was I only dig holes and it's not a big deal as it is only a cremation. Disgusting! He then commenced to drain the hole, infront of 100 guest, using a cutoff plastic soda bottle. A family member retrieved a blanket from his car trunk and we covered the sod and mud. Another family member , in a suit, got down on his hands and knees and finished soaking up the mud and water from the hole with an old rag. This was the most undignified grave side presentation / funeral I have ever witnessed in my life. My brother and his interned wife deserved better. The shame these people should feel. What a horrible way for my brother, his two daughters and over 100 guests to say farewell to a wife, mother and friend. You should be embarrassed. Shame on you!"

"Absolute disgrace! Upon arriving at the St. Columbkille cemetery after the funeral service the plot for my mom's cremated remains was marked with an orange traffic cone & there was about 6 inches of water in the shallow grave (See photo). The workers acted like they had no idea there was a burial supposed to be taking place. This is not how a loved one deserves to be put to rest!"

"My Great Grandfathers Headstone was turned over, they called me the next morning to let me know they had it fixed."