Cemetery Strolling: Saint Tarcisius Cemetery
When the winter turns unseasonably warm, you take advantage of every minute you can. So on a mild Sunday afternoon, Mike and I decided to take a stroll through Saint Tarcisius Cemetery, located in Framingham, Massachusetts near Washakum Pond. We've driven past numerous times, but never stopped in. It's well worth the visit, Saint Tarcicius has many fine residents as well as some gorgeous statuary.
I love the attention to detail in the stonework. Individual strands of hair. Visible woven texture in the fabric. Dimple in the elbow.
Hand painted figurines adorn many of the graves. Their tiny faces look on passively in acceptance of the slow creep of lichen and moss.
And then there's this guy.
Gazing up at heaven with wide, blank, dead eyes. Seeing nothing and everything all at once.
A single tear falls on each side of his enlarged face. Limp hair forms a shroud over his shoulders. Lips parted in a heaving sigh. Brows furrowed in everlasting agony. It's both beautiful and horrible all at the same time. Who would ever want this as a headstone?
On a more lighter note, a quite regal relief. Excellent coif. Brows on point.
A little chapel set way in the back. Lovely stained glass dome above, waiting for the sunshine to return and illuminate it.
And an unusual find: mosaic work set within a headstone. The cross here is actually gold tile that shimmers in the light if you turn a certain way.
More beautiful mourners, frozen in time.
This one was quite arresting, the pose so heartbreaking and desperate.
Saint Tarcisius is heavy leaning on Roman Catholic membership. So there's quite a few Sacred Heart symbols like this one. The Sacred Heart symbol is pretty intense. It's a flaming heart, shining with divine light, pierced by a lance, encircled by a crown of thorns, surmounted by a cross, and actively bleeding. Catholics are so metal.
This guy is St. Anthony of Padua. He's hanging out with baby Jesus (who looks strangely more like a hobbit rather than an infant). He is the patron saint of lost things and lost people.
Another Sacred Heart Jesus. This one had eyes that followed you wherever you walked.
Not sure of the identity or symbolism here. Could be Mary and Jesus, or someone else? Saint with Scarf and Saint with Scroll turned up no concrete results.
This baby Jesus / Cherub was particularly well done. Even down to the individual toes.
And the big finale. We'd seen this guy from the car, several hundred feet off in the distance and wondered about him. If you're driving by, the profile resembles that of a gigantic, white marble Darth Vader kneeling before an unseen emperor. It's the helmet hair and robes, plus my overactive imagination. Up close though, it's totally Jesus.
In the way back section, things get modern. Laser etching is having a moment right now.
I like that this family included their boat as a point of focus.
And the award for Best 80's Hair goes to Diane, who hopefully is still rocking strong somewhere in the great beyond.
The reverse of her headstone is just as lovely.
