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The Basilica Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Crypt is the final resting place for Vincentians. If you sit quietly, you can almost hear their hushed tones or feel their priestly presence. Their aura is palpable as they lay to rest once again as confreres. While they have transitioned from the physical to transphysical, the Vincentians of the Eastern Province, who are placed in Crypt, impart a spiritual connection to visitors.

Hidden deep beneath The Basilica Shrine (yet accessible from the building’s Lower Level) the Crypt, also known as the Shrine’s Mortuary Chapel, is the final resting place of 71 Vincentian priests, brothers, and seminarians. All of them entered eternal life from 1900 until 1963, when Fr. Joseph A. Skelly, CM, founder of the Central Association of the Miraculous Medal, was laid to rest.

Other Resting Places

Originally, there were several locations where deceased Vincentians were interred, including present-day Niagara University in New York and the vault under the entrance of St. Vincent de Paul Church on Price Street in Philadelphia. In 1900, the Congregation moved the burial grounds to the seminary property in Germantown.

By 1938, all the plots in the crypt were occupied except for one. The last space was used for Fr. William F. Groeninger, CM, who died on February 27, 1943, and was laid to rest in the crypt on May 3. However, 20 years later, a burial space was dedicated to Fr. Skelly; it was the only burial space purposely placed.

Heroic Men of God

When visiting the Crypt Chapel, visitors will notice a large number of deaths occurring in 1918. During the influenza pandemic of that year, the Vincentians responded heroically to the sick and dying their lives by contracting the life-threatening flu. As a result, nine succumbed to the disease in the fall of 1918. This is the largest number of Vincentians placed in the crypt during a one-year span. Open to the public, the crypt is more than an entombment of Vincentians. Kevin Flynn, who has been a frequent Basilica Shrine visitor since his childhood, has found the crypt to be a serene spot for reflection. “I enjoy visiting the crypt because it is a quiet place to pray,” says Flynn, “and with Fr. Skelly and his confreres buried there, I imagine I am surrounded by saints.”

Visit this Serene Spot for Reflection

Open to the public, the crypt is more than an entombment of Vincentians. Kevin Flynn, who has been a frequent Shrine visitor since his early childhood, has found the crypt to be a serene spot for reflection. “I enjoy visiting the crypt because it is a quiet place to pray,” says Flynn, “and with Fr. Skelly and his confreres buried there, I imagine I am surrounded by saints.”

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