Saint Raymond's Cemetery

Saint Raymond's Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery at 2600 Lafayette Avenue in the Throggs Neck and Schuylerville sections of the Bronx, New York City. The cemetery is composed of two separate locations: the older section (main entrance is located at 1201 Balcom Avenue), and the newer section (where most present-day burials now take place), both east of the Hutchinson River Parkway. The Bronx–Whitestone Bridge is located adjacent to the cemetery's newer section, while the neighboring Throgs Neck Bridge can be seen from a distance.The cemetery is owned and operated by the Archdiocese of New York. It is the only Catholic cemetery in the Bronx and is one of the busiest cemeteries in the United States with nearly 4,000 burials each year. The cemetery provides in-ground burials, in-ground crypt burials in the new Holy Cross section, Mausoleum burials and niches for cremains and burials in the base of the gigantic granite Cross located in the Holy Cross section. There is also a special Garden of Innocents where still-born and young babies are laid to rest. A portion of the St. Peters section was set aside in 1964 for the burial of the Archdiocese's clergymen.HistoryThe cemetery land was originally the "Underhill Farm of Throgg's Neck." It was purchased and consecrated by the forward-thinking Rev. Michael B. McEvoy, pastor from 1875 to 1885 of St. Raymond's Church, who bought the land and utilized it for burial purposes as Saint Raymond's Cemetery. Through its connection to St. Raymond's Church, the cemetery was dedicated in honor of Saint Raymond of Penyafort, a 12th-century Catalan-Spanish saint.