Feature Story

By Leslie King

Lagniappe intern

On a day in August of 1877 rain streamed from a shady gray sky as four white horses drawing the hearse of Admiral Raphael Semmes passed through the wet streets toward the Old Catholic Cemetery. A convoy of the First Regiment Band, Alabama State Troops, uniformed city police, catholic clergy, city officials and assorted friends followed his hearse on foot and carriages. On that day, he became one of Catholic Cemetery’s most famous residents.

No matter what, there is always a certain connotation about a cemetery. There are those that have ghosts stories and those that have a historical context. The Old Catholic Cemetery is attempting to preserve history in changing times.

Archbishop Michael Portier, founder of Spring Hill College, chose the cemetery site because it was securely outside city limits and reachable by horse or wagon. Not long after purchasing the land, Portier had the cemetery drawn in a large circle with the grave plots pointed toward the center. Claude Beroujon, designer of Spring Hill College, was given the challenge of laying out a precise circle on uneven ground. Portier may have been inspired with this design from his home, France, where circular cemeteries were common. The prices of burial lots within the circle was $20.

It seems most people pass by and do not pay much attention to the works of art, much less the names of the people who have contributed to Alabama’s rich history. For example, Raphael Semmes was a famous war hero. Semmes was born on Sept. 30, 1809, in Charles City, Md. He quickly worked his way up into the military ranks. In 1826 he was a midshipman and by 1855 he was a commander.

During his military time, he studied law in Maryland and was admitted to the bar in 1834. Semmes went on extended leave in Mobile after barely surviving the Mexican War. He later became a commander in the Confederate States Navy. In August of 1862, Semmes, now a captain, was assigned to the CSS Alabama. The CSS Alabama became a very successful cruiser. It captured and sunk 65 ships, more than any other Confederate cruiser.

Also, buried in Catholic Cemeterm is Father Abram Joseph Ryan, aka “The Poet Priest of the Confederacy. Ryan is buried here along with other religious orders such as the Sisters of Charity, Brothers of the Sacred Heart, Little Sisters of the Poor, and the Sisters of Mercy.

Ryan was a chaplain for the Confederate army during the Civil War and was known for his patriotic poems. His most famous work being “The Conquered Banner.”

He chose to be buried in the lot of the Children of Mary with the orphans he cared for, ministered to, and laid to rest.

The Sisters of Charity arrived in Mobile in 1841 to care for orphans and by 1851 were managing the City Hospital. False charges of mismanagement forced the Sisters out of the hospital during a period of anti-Catholic sentiment. Yet, the Sisters regained respect by service to Mobile during the 1853 yellow fever epidemic. A marble tombstone recalls their sacrifice.

These people have helped humanity, but now one of the most important and sacred parts of their legacies are going to ruin. The roadways running through the cemetery have been patched and potholes are in all places. Most of the obelisks in the older section are illegible, leaning, broken and weathered. Bushes have grown over sites and a rusted chain link fence connects to the white chipped stuccoed pylons with iron gates.

However, the 150-acre cemetery still presents a form of 19th century architectural beauty. Large magnolia, oak, and cedar trees with their beautiful and unique trunk designs grace the landscape, and some of the stones are still in good enough condition to see detail.

Just because people have moved out of the area and moved on, does not mean that those of the past have to be forgotten. This is why the Friends of the Catholic Cemetery have come together. The non-profitable association has been active for a year and operates under the Archdiocese of Mobile. In addition to beautifying the grounds, The Friends of the Catholic Cemetery’s goals are to establish a perpetual care trust fund to provide financial integrity, clear growth in those areas which block access to grave sites, establish a memorial fund to improve fencing around the cemetery, repair monuments for those who have no known living descendants, and identify those who have an interest in upkeep of ancestors’ gravesites.

Currently, the association is in the process of reaching a few of its goals.

“We are in the process of putting a new gate and fence up on Martin Luther King Drive, computerizing all the old records and repaving the streets,” Hayes Thompson, vice-president of the Friends of the Catholic Cemetery, said.

Bill Wolfarth, superintendent of the cemetery, works on site twice a week and believes it is very important for the cemetery to be restored. “Any cemetery should be special and not vandalized. We think of it as sacred,” Wolfarth said.

The same restoration plan used by the Magnolia Cemetery is being implemented in the Old Catholic Cemetery project. “Magnolia Cemetery turned out beautiful and we are using the same concept. It’s [Magnolia Cemetery] been completed and very successful,” Thompson said.

The Old Catholic Cemetery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991 and one specific factor has contributed to its decline. “Many of the people in the Catholic organization have moved away from the area and so families started using cemeteries near where they live,” Thompson said.

The Old Catholic Cemetery is located next to the Roger Williams Housing Project in the Toulminville community and Thompson believes some may feel unsafe. “The area is also economically deprived and there are security concerns,” Thompson says.

In the future, the cemetery management hopes to provide a security officer on the premises.

The Friends of the Catholic Cemetery association is currently taking membership. Dues for a single adult or couple are $25 a year.

Membership is not limited to those of the Catholic faith, but open to anyone interested in historic sites. Although the Catholic Church founded the cemetery, whites, Creoles, blacks, and those of other religious orders are buried there as well.

Thompson believes the cemetery should interest a wide group.

“The cemetery restoration project should appeal to people because we are trying to maintain historic sites for tourism,” Thompson said.

A red and white confederate flag blows in the wind above Admiral Semmes’ grave. A picture of Semmes and an inscription lies on a modern metal and granite marker. The original ledger is at the Museum of Mobile.

The marker reads: “To the undying memory of Raphael Semmes. Author, diplomat, journalist, jurist, scholar, soldier, and seaman extraordinary; But above all, and always, a gentleman. One of the greatest naval heroes in history. Born in Charles City, Md., Sept.27, 1809. Died at Point Clear, Ala., Aug. 30, 1877. Home is the sailor, home from the sea at rest in the soil he loved.”

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