St. Dominic Cemetery
The stones before you mark the graves of those who dedicated their lives to God. This is the final resting place of the Sisters of St. Dominic of Amityville as well as some of their chaplains. The first sister to be buried here was Sister Walburga Meninger who died in 1878. Previously, our Dominican sisters had been buried at Most Holy Trinity Cemetery on Montrose Avenue, Brooklyn. In subsequent years, their remains were brought here. Not all the Amityville Dominican sisters are buried in this soil. If you look to the left, you will see a shrine to St. Dominic which memorializes the Amityville Dominican Sisters who lived, served, and were buried in their Province in Puerto Rico. The mission was established in 1910 and continues today. St. Dominic Cemetery has been listed as a National Historic Site.
REFLECTION: “I am standing on the shoulders of the ones who came before me.” – Joyce Johnson Rouse
At one time, our Sisters were buried at a cemetery at Holy Trinity in Williamsburg in Brooklyn where they ministered to the immigrant population. The remains of these sisters were eventually translated to this site. Located at the heart of St. Dominic’s cemetery is the grave of our Foundress Mother Josepha Witzlhofer who died in 1854. Her body, along with five others, were brought here in 1896. At the heart of the cemetery is the vault. In the vault next to Mother Josepha are buried other beloved prioresses including , Emilia Barth (1895), Catherine Herbert (1944), Augustine Fleck (1927), Caritas Harth (1966), Anselma Ruth (1957), Bernadette de Lourdes Belz (1985). Prioress Frances Maureen is located next to the vault. In the center of the cemetery there are prominent flat stones which contained the remains of other sisters which were brought here, after being previously interred in Brooklyn.
There are Stations of the Cross in the back of the cemetery near New Highway. Just behind St. Dominic’s Chapel a statue of St. Joseph stands watch over our departed sisters in their eternal rest.
Scroll down on this page for a video about St. Dominic’s Cemetery.
Other stops on the trail:
