Resurrection Mausoleum
On April 20, 1914, Bishop Alerding contracted with the Standard Mausoleum Company of Findley, Ohio, to erect the Mausoleum at the Catholic Cemetery. The architect was Charles Weatherhoog. The building was complete in 1918 and Bishop Alerding dedicated it on All Souls Day of that year.
The original building contained 340 crypts including 5 family rooms, 4 of which were sold before construction started.
The exterior of the building is of fluted Bedford stone. All doors are of bronze and all windows contain stained glass. The interior walls, base, and floor are of Italian marble.
The building was remodeled in the mid-1970s. The area where the altar once stood was converted into 36 double crypts. These have oak fronts with bronze lettering and numbering. This then forms the background for the interment chapel. An heroic wood sculpture of the Risen Christ hangs over the corridor with a smaller version of the Blessed Mother in the background.
A new ramp walk was installed from the parking lot to the front door, making it easily accessible with no steps to ascend.
In 1999, the entire building inside and out was reconditioned and restored. The interior was redone and stenciled, the old main altar was reconstituted and contains a first class relic of Saint John Neumann. The chapel is now one of the most beautiful interment chapels in the Fort Wayne area.
Resurrection Mausoleum is the oldest Catholic community mausoleum in the United States.
