Dozens of people gathered at Resurrection Cemetery on Saturday, September 6, for the blessing of Little Angels Shrine.

The new shrine is a sacred space reserved for the burial of miscarriage, stillborn baby, or infant remains in consecrated ground. The area honors the memory of deceased children while also providing a place of prayer and healing for those who have experienced the death of a child.

Cemetery grounds are open to the public from dawn to dusk.

Fairfield County Catholic Cemeteries of the Diocese of Bridgeport (CT Cemeteries), which manages Resurrection Cemetery, invited the community to watch Bishop Frank Caggiano bless the shrine Saturday morning.

People gathered at the shrine’s round altar and sat on its stone benches. Anyone who could not find a seat stood towards the back of the altar. CT Cemeteries also provided tissues to everyone, with each bench having a tissue box at one side.

Informational booths were set up towards the sides of the altar, with legal and medical information on miscarriage and stillbirth in Connecticut along with pamphlets listing the Diocese of Bridgeport Catholic Cemeteries’ bereavement support programs.

One booth offered holy water, along with blue and pink ribbon pins representing infant/child loss.

Kenn Devane, who handles cemetery relations for the Diocese of Bridgeport Catholic Cemeteries, started the blessing by telling everyone about the background of the shrine.

Devane said the idea for Little Angels Shrine comes from a parishioner in the Newtown area, who wanted to have a baby shrine built somewhere. She went to New York, Bridgeport, and Hartford diocese a few years ago, but nothing came of it.

The woman later reintroduced herself to the Diocese of Bridgeport in 2023. When she asked if they would consider building a shrine, CT Cemeteries Executive Director Dean Gestal and Bishop Frank Caggiano decided to go ahead and build one at Resurrection Cemetery.

“In February of this year, the circle that you’re sitting in was an outline of orange paint on the grass,” Devane told everyone. “Our staff in the cemeteries has built all of this, and we are incredibly proud of them.”

Gestal spoke next, thanking around 50 CT Cemetery employees for their hard work and for seeing such a beautiful endeavor through.

“I think everyone has touched this project in one way or another,” Gestal said. “My acclaim goes out to our team, and this is certainly a team effort.”

Caggiano took the floor and expressed his sincere gratitude to CT Cemeteries for allowing this dream to become a reality; that everyone “may find the place here for rest, reflection, prayer, and peace.”

He led everyone in a scripture reading and prayer, saying that places such as this shrine honor those who have gone before us so they are never forgotten.

“Now we have a place to remember them,” Caggiano said. “For they are our sisters and brothers, our sons and daughters, and grandsons and granddaughters, our nieces and nephews. They are all are family.”

Caggiano then blessed the shrine in two parts, first blessing the shrine’s altar before blessing 14 Stations of the Cross surrounding it. He invited everyone to follow him as he moved from one station to the other, blessing each one in silence and recognition.

A Sacred Space

Little Angels Shrine consists of a round altar area with seats and benches for services. The altar is surrounded by 14 Stations of the Cross made out of Carrara marble and situated on granite platforms.

Beyond the Stations of the Cross are five stone memorial walls where remains, when available, are buried at the foot of the wall.

Whether someone has remains of their child or not, a plaque honoring them will be affixed to the wall. Each plaque features the child’s name and date of their passing, with a large cross in between. Devane said more memorial walls will be built as space is needed.

The Stations of the Cross came from a church in New York that was about to close, according to Devane. CT Cemeteries bought them all and placed a granite border around the sides of each station. Devane said this is because marble is soft compared to granite, and the granite border would help protect the stations from weathering and scratching.

Construction for the shrine started in March of this year. Devane said they laid down the concrete, put in all the granite, and built the altar before building the stone memorial walls.

That area of the cemetery used to be a field of grass. Now, Devane said he hopes it can help be a place of prayer and healing for parents and others who have experienced the death of a child.

The shrine holds personal significance to Devane, as he and his wife had a miscarriage many years ago.

“We didn’t have the remains, so you really don’t have a place to mourn,” Devane explained.

But as Devane started talking to people about the shrine over phone calls and emails, he realized many people have had miscarriages. Even if they have not had one, Devane said they likely know someone close to them who has.

“It’s one of those things where you don’t talk about it until it comes up, and then you find out many people have gone through that pain,” Devane said. “A lot of the people I’ve spoken with say it’ll be a relief to go somewhere and sit and have the memory of their child to think about.”

He said people could go into a regular cemetery to pray, but having a plaque of their child’s name up on the wall gives them a reason to sit at the shrine and ponder that.

CT Cemeteries will hold a service on one Saturday each month and receive remains for the shrine. Remains are secured and interred the following week by CT Cemeteries field staff. There is no charge for the service, burial, plaques, or inscriptions. However, donations are greatly appreciated.

For more information, visit ctcemeteries.org/cemeteries/resurrection/little-angels-shrine or call 203-404-0820.

Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.