ABOUT THE ABBEY CEMETERY

When the Benedictine monks moved from their original home in Gessen (Ponchatoula) to the current site of Saint Joseph Abbey outside of Covington in the early 1900s, they quickly established a cemetery on the property to bury their own. As years passed there were some “outsiders” allowed to be buried in the cemetery, including Diocesan priests who aided in the monastery’s establishment, but those allowed had to have a direct connection to the Abbey.

The cemetery remained small and surrounded by pasture land for many years. It wasn’t until the 1990s when burial in the cemetery was opened to the public. At the time there was not a Catholic cemetery in the area, and the Abbey was looking to expand its sources of revenue. One thing it did have was a lot of land to expand the cemetery.

Today, the Saint Joseph Abbey Cemetery is a favored burial site for many in the region.

There are currently 3,643 ground plots laid out in the cemetery, and that number is growing as expansions are discussed.

In 2019, 720 cremation niches were added to the Saint Joseph Abbey Cemetery. These niches, located inside the Columbariums, can be found just past the cemetery entrance. Benches line the pathway of the structures, which are all named for Saints. An expansion of 12 new columbarium units, with 1,170 cremation niches, is under way.