Gardens of Gethsemani cemetery is offering a unique field trip to Catholic schools: take a tour, learn about Catholic teaching on death and eternal life, and clean some gravestones.

Director Peter Nobes said an increasing number of schools are accepting the offer. This fall, students from Immaculate Conception (Delta), St. Catherine’s, St. John Paul II Academy, and Traditional Learning Academy arrived on site to participate.

Nobes said the tour helps young people learn about All Saints and All Souls Day, lessen their fears of death, and normalize visiting cemeteries to pray for the deceased.

Students also clean the gravestones of priests who have died, making connections with their Catholic faith and local history.

Students from St. Catherine’s school at Gardens of Gethsemani in Surrey.
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