Persistence in faith by two Calgary Catholic families, over seven years, has helped establish an eternal resting place for miscarried babies.  

The Loreto Crypt Sanctuary for Little Souls in Queen’s Park Cemetery was opened and consecrated by Calgary Bishop William McGrattan Dec. 10. The black marble crypt, featuring gold imprint, has space to accommodate 1,000 containers for the remains of babies who died before 20 weeks of gestation.

Ten angel babies were interred during the unveiling ceremony on Dec. 10. Sara Francis honoured her precious son Jude, who was lost at 11 weeks of pregnancy during the autumn of 2018.

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Amid her grief, Francis could not find a formal resting place for Jude, and she did not wish to cremate him, so she elected a burial in her backyard. However, there was a risk of this resting place not being permanent if she and her family ever decided to move.

She and her husband, Ben — they attend St. Bernard's/Our Lady of the Assumption Parish with their six children — reached out to the Diocese of Calgary to express that the city needed a dignified mausoleum for unborn children called to be with Jesus.

“When we approached the diocese, right away they did recognize the grief was real for us and that our intuition was right,” said Francis. “They did support right away our desire for something more formalized to bury these babies and then also to support families in this time.”

Unbeknownst to Francis initially, Mike and Amber Franco, who reside in Calgary with their seven children, had also contacted the diocesan pastoral office around the same time. Mike said Fr. Wilbert Chin Jon, now moderator of the curia, reached out to inform the couple “it was already in their hearts that they wanted to start something for miscarriages.”

When Amber was in the hospital recovering from a transfusion she had after her third loss, Francis reached out to lend emotional support. They began corresponding back and forth about how there was a great need for the diocese to provide more to families who experience the pain of miscarriage. The Francos and Francis began serving the Miscarriage Care committee established in 2019.

“We got together, and when we heard of families that had a loss, we were able to reach out to them and help them,” said Amber, who, along with Mike, entombed six of their eight miscarried babies as they had the remains of six of them. Their names: Jean-Marie, Zachary, Poppy, Gianna, Bridget and Catherine.

Francis said this friendship “has been such a gift because I don't know that either one of our families could have had the strength and courage and perseverance to do it single-handedly.” She feels in her heart that God “placed us together so that we would have each other to have this spiritual friendship and a common mission.

And they had an ally in the diocese. While there was always a desire on the part of diocesan leadership to secure an eternal resting place for miscarried babies, unfortunately, for nearly seven years, no viable option emerged.

This past May, Chin Jon emailed the committee. He requested a meeting at Queen’s Park Cemetery. They were surprised and overjoyed when the priest pointed out an extra crypt the City of Calgary had in its inventory, and that the diocese was prepared to make the purchase.

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Francis shared her poignant exchange with Chin Jon in a write-up she submitted to the Diocese of Calgary’s Faithfully blog. She exclaimed at the time, “It’s a miracle. After all this time, it’s as if the crypt just fell out of the sky from Heaven!”  

Chin Jon replied, “Yes, it’s like the Miracle of Loreto.”

Francis wrote that “the name stuck: Loreto Crypt Sanctuary for Little Souls.”

The Miracle of Loreto refers to the Holy House of Nazareth, where the Virgin Mary is believed to have lived, being miraculously transported, according to tradition, by angels from Palestine to Loreto, Italy, in 1294, to protect this revered place where the Annunciation and Incarnation occurred from invaders.

“It's such a beautiful testament to so many people who have had this loss,” said Amber. “We were just waiting for the right location. It just took a lot of time. God knew what He was doing and (so did) Our Lady.”

Ben Francis and Mike delivered readings at a ceremony that also saw Angelica and Curtis Auch inter their son Ignatius, and Cherrie and Evan MacLeod bury Emma and Trinity. A special reception was hosted afterwards at Our Lady of Peace Maronite Church.

Both Catholics and non-Catholics are invited to honour their miscarried baby with placement in the Loreto Crypt at no charge. Interested individuals are made aware that this is a Catholic ministry. The babies can also be memorialized in an online registry.   

The City of Calgary Cemeteries has committed to covering all associated burial costs for openings conducted during regular operating hours. 

Francis and Amber are optimistic other dioceses across Canada will follow Calgary’s lead. Notably, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has endorsed “dedicating a place of peace” for miscarried babies in recent years.

Going forward, Francis and the Francos will continue serving on the Miscarriage Care committee, supporting both mothers and fathers. 

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“There are lots of us out there that have shared the same sort of sadness,” said Mike. “It was nice to inter with other people. We felt alone a lot of times because there was no one to talk to at the beginning. We're working on trying to make people feel like they belong.”

See catholicyyc.ca/loretocrypt.html for more on the Loreto Crypt Sanctuary for Little Souls.