Historical Images are from the Albert R. Stone Negative Collection, Rochester Museum & Science Center. Click here to VIEW MORE HISTORICAL IMAGES

In 1871, Bishop Bernard J. McQuaid, first Bishop of Rochester, decided to create a single Catholic burial ground that would serve the needs of local Catholics for decades to come. He chose a tract of farmland on both sides of what is now Lake Avenue, and gave the cemetery the name Holy Sepulchre. The first section, on the east side of the avenue, was solemnly consecrated on September 10, 1871.

Bishop McQuaid was a visionary, a careful planner and innovator who started the cemetery with proper management policies and environmental standards necessary to maintain order and beauty in this huge “garden cemetery”.

To do this, the Bishop consulted and worked with many of the most notable gardeners, horticulturalists, and landscape designers of that time, including Pierre Meisch of Belgium, F.R. Elliott of Cleveland, Ohio, and Rochester’s own premier nurseryman, Patrick Barry. That standard of excellence, quality and planning continues to this day.

In 1876, the cornerstone was laid for All Soul’s Chapel, also on the historic east side. It was designed by Andrew Jackson Warner, one of Rochester’s most outstanding architects, and constructed of mottled Medina sandstone. Early English Gothic in style, the chapel is an irreplaceable work of art, with its steep slate roof, hammer beams, intricately painted ceilings, and stained glass windows produced in Holland.

COMPLETE HISTORY