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The convent cemetery of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary was recently moved to a new location about seven miles away. Erosion and ground shifts created by the Normanskill Creek made the move necessary.

The remains of 133 sisters - some, in wooden boxes - were transported from a private space on the grounds of the Academy of the Holy Names in Albany to Calvary Cemetery in Glenmont, a diocesan cemetery, over the course of the summer.

The new lot is about 75 feet wide by 70 feet deep and will be able to accommodate at least 100 more graves in the future.

Grave markers have been installed, but the Holy Names religious community is waiting to purchase and install a commemorative stone to distinguish the section before holding a rededication ceremony and memorial service, most likely in the spring. Members are also still contacting relatives and friends of deceased sisters and expect that process will take months.

After engineers first warned of the erosion - which has also threatened roads, homes and a golf course - at least 10 years ago, graves on the edge of the property were moved further within the cemetery. But worsening conditions eventually necessitated relocation of all the remains.

"It would have been nice to be [buried] there," said Sister Mary Frances Beck, SNJM, mission center coordinator for the sisters in Albany. "But it was so obvious that this had to be done. You could see the ground had shifted. You could see the change in the earth."

She said members of the community have reacted with understanding but some sadness, "because they want to be buried in our own place. It's our home."

This isn't the first big change the sisters have experienced this decade: The U.S.-Ontario province of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary formed in 2006 after five provinces merged. The combined province has more than 500 sisters and about 400 associates; there are 26 Holy Names sisters in Albany, which used to be the headquarters for the New York province.

The order was founded in Quebec in 1843 and dedicated itself to educating and empowering people, with a focus on women, children and those in need. In the Albany Diocese, Holy Names sisters serve at the Academy of the Holy Names in Albany and in ministries at Union College in Schenectady, four senior residences, a parish and the diocesan Consultation Center in Albany.

Sister Mary Frances called the graves' relocation another "sign that life goes on and you adapt."[[In-content Ad]]

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