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Many Catholics have never heard of a garden of biblical plants, but St. Joseph's parish in Worcester has one right in its backyard.

The garden was originally dedicated in 2009 as the "Life Garden." Recently, it has been rededicated as the "Joy of Life Garden."

When it was created, the space was meant to help people mourn the loss of children who were miscarried or died at birth, said Rev. Ronald Green, MM, administrator at St. Joseph's.

"They wanted a place dedicated for them to remember the children that passed away," he said, and the women who worked in the garden used their toil to help in healing their grief.

Now, the garden is dedicated to people at all stages of life, as well as those who have passed away. A parish committee -- which includes two parishioners who are master gardeners through a Cornell Cooperative Extension program -- was able to get a grant to help renovate the space.

"We decided our focus would be on biblical flowers and plants," said Tina McGurrin, one of the master gardeners. The group used the book "Planting a Bible Garden" by F. Nigel Hepper as a reference.

The gardeners included plants such as forget-me-nots to symbolize the color of the Virgin Mary's cloak, and bleeding hearts and geraniums to symbolize the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Another plant in the garden is the calendula, an edible plant that is also known as "Mary's gold." For the opening of the garden, some of the volunteers made cookies out of the flower to serve to the visitors.

"People in the church community really came together to do different parts of the garden," Mrs. McGurrin told The Evangelist. During the renovation, parishioners took charge of plots, divvying up the work. Boy Scouts and Knights of Columbus helped with larger projects like moving stones and paining the garden shed.

"I do my share," noted Father Green. The garden still needs frequent weeding, so "I drag up a push mower and a weed-whacker."

The garden is also home to many statues, including one of the biblical Rachel - often invoked by women struggling with infertility or the loss of a child - and a statue of a baby cradled by angel wings. By the statue of Rachel, there are small stones on which visitors are encouraged to write the name of a deceased child and lay at her feet. The garden also has a terrace, benches and a grotto with a statue of Mary.

The gardeners and volunteers worked on the space for three months in the summer, revealing the result at a parish picnic and the community block party in mid-August.

"Many people are still coming in" to visit, Mrs. McGurrin said.

Father Green said he often sees visitors in the garden, taking advantage of the space as a quiet sanctuary to meditate or pray.[[In-content Ad]]

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