Time to honor faithfully departed

JEANERETTE - Across the Teche Area Thursday and today, people have been visiting cemeteries to pay tribute to their loved ones.

Berna Robin, 81, of Jeanerette, was one of them. Robin was visiting the grave sites of deceased relatives during Thursday's All Saints Day ceremony at St. John the Evangelist Cemetery.

"I've been coming, I don't know exactly how many years, but I try to come every year," Robin said. "I have my mom, daddy, three sisters and a husband buried here."

As tradition, All Saints' Day in Jeanerette began with a morning Mass at St. John the Evangelist Church. Then, the Rev. Jody Simoneaux led a line of parishioners into the cemetery, where he gave the blessing.

Like Halloween, All Saints Day originated from an Irish Christian tradition called Hallowmas ("hallows" meaning "saints" and "mas" meaning "Mass"), according to historians. It was a feast celebrated Nov. 1 in honor of all the saints known and unknown.

In terms of Catholic tradition, however, the feast remembers all those who have attained the "beatific vision in heaven," while today, All Souls Day commemorates the departed faithful who have not yet been purified and reached heaven.

Rita Rogers, 70, attends the ceremony every year.

"I practically live in the graveyard," she said. "I have a lot of family members here."

Robin, Rogers and others like Ada and Charles Davey of Jeanerette were there to bring flowers to their relatives' grave sites and perform other upkeep.

"We usually come the day before because it gets crowded," Ada Davey said.

She said in addition to brothers and sisters-in-law buried at the cemetery, she also visits the gravesite of her infant son who died in the 1950s.

"This (All Saints Day) is to honor the saints and the deceased and all the souls," Ada Davey said.

Others were taking on bigger projects at the cemetery Thursday.

Juliane Deare Schexnayder and others have formed the group "Friends of the Cemetery." Their mission is to identify unmarked graves before living relatives, who still are able to identify them, are gone.

And, Jim Guiberteau of Houston met his brother, Bert, at the cemetery where they have a number of family members buried. Jim Guiberteau has been keeping track of his relatives' grave sites and taking pictures of them for living relatives. He even traveled to France to take pictures of his relatives' grave sites there.

"It (keeping up the graves) is honoring your ancestors," Guiberteau said.

"In the old days, you paid rent, and if you didn't pay the rent, they would dig you up."