"This sacred burial space will allow our Diocese to continue to meet the growing needs of our Catholic community. As burial space continues to become more limited, our careful planning will allow us to provide needed Catholic interment space within Orange County," said Bishop Brown.

The first mausoleum completed as part of the Diocese long-range plan for Catholic interment space was completed in March of 2007 at Ascension Cemetery in Lake Forest. The Ascension project included a 1,152 crypt mausoleum, a new administration office building, entrance gate, irrigation system and street improvements totaling $3.7 million.

The beautiful Resurrection Garden Mausoleum at Good Shepherd is the second mausoleum of three planned projects. This project broke ground on June 23, 2008 and has taken just over one-year to complete. LPA Architects of Irvine designed the building and the construction was carried out by DPR Construction and Carrier Mausoleum Construction Co. More than $8.6 million in public improvements have been made to the site as part of this project, including: storm drainage upgrades, new sidewalks and roads, perimeter artwork, a new gate, and a $1.8 million service and maintenance facility. The overall project also included an addition 1,200 ground interment spaces and 60 additional private Family Estates.

"As available land continues to ebb as a result of urbanization, we must plan intelligently to ensure individuals are not forced to look outside the county to bury their loved ones. We decided to expand our cemeteries by building three new mausoleums to maximize interment space to provide for the need for another 75 years or more," said Mike Wesner, director of Diocesan cemeteries.