When you think of great partnerships throughout history, there’s a good chance they have these qualities in common: effective communication, complementary skills and, perhaps most significantly, trust.
As Paty Rodriguez, new cemetery manager, and I settle into our roles at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery and Funeral Home, I am proud to say that we possess all of these traits and one more, which I believe is most important of all: a shared passion for serving Catholic families with care and compassion as they lay their loved ones to rest.
I joined the team at Holy Cross a few months ago as general manager, and Paty came here shortly thereafter as the cemetery manager. We soon discovered that we were both called to our ministry by personal tragedy—Paty after the unexpected death of her brother and I after losing my father when I was just a baby. Our personal experiences instilled in both of us a keen sense of empathy, and we both feel called to care for families going through the losses we had endured.
We also discovered that our skills and experience dovetail nicely and enable us to provide families with the support they need as they prepare for a Catholic funeral and burial. Paty has many years of experience running cemeteries, and she is generous in sharing her knowledge with me. I bring to our partnership my own experience as funeral director and embalmer, with a specialty in reconstruction, to enable families to partake in the full Catholic funeral experience. Together, we are able to offer families expertise that runs the spectrum of their funeral and cemetery needs.
Paty and I also share a strong sense of community. As natives of the Valley of the Sun, we have deep roots in the greater Phoenix area and have a great respect for the local culture. We’re committed to helping strengthen our Catholic community in the West Valley through a variety of outreach programs. We are also working with local hospitals to help educate them and their patients about our unborn baby burial program.
I hope that you will take the opportunity to come meet us in person during our All Souls Day Mass on November 2 at 4:30 p.m. at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery and Funeral Home. You also can meet our colleagues at our other locations for All Souls Day Mass. We will have counselors available at each location to answer your questions or give you a tour.
Many blessings.
Monica H. Torres is General Manager of Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery and Funeral Home.
