A Journey of Healing
Though often a hidden grief, miscarriage can be an experience of extreme suffering. Many times, it can be overwhelming to navigate and difficult to know where to turn. The following are ministries and resources for you, to help you grieve the loss of your child and walk a path towards healing and hope.
Know of our prayers for you. You are not alone.
Gospel of Life Week
Gospel of Life Week
Teachers and Parents
– Adoption
– Loving Our Neighbors
– Knowing My Value
– Life is a Gift
– Learning to Forgive
– Respecting Others
– Caring for Those in Need
– The Beginning of Life
– Celebrating Special Needs
– Overcoming Differences
– Receiving Mercy
– Immigration
– Life is Precious
– Dignity at Every Age
– Marriage
– Caring for Creation
DREs and Catechists
– Grades PK-3
– Grades 4-6
– Grades 7-9
– Grades 10-12
Topics
– The Beginning of Life
– Knowing My Value
– Adoption
– Respecting Others
– Receiving Mercy
– Immigration
– Loving Our Neighbors
– Life is a Gift
– Life is Precious
– Dignity at Every Age
– Learning to Forgive
– Caring for Those in Need
– Marriage
– Caring for Creation
– Celebrating Special Needs
– Overcoming Differences
High School Resources
Youth Ministry Resources
Service Opportunities
Redbird Ministries
The Archdiocese of New York is so grateful to be working with Red Bird Ministries to uphold those carrying the cross of miscarriage and infant loss.
Through accompaniment and compassionate care, Red Bird Ministries guides individuals and couples through the complexity and trauma that happens with the loss of a child from pregnancy through adulthood. If you are interested in reaching out, we encourage you to explore the support that Red Bird Ministries offers.
- App + Community: Catholic-focused grief support app and community haven for families of child loss to find solace and resources. It’s easy to navigate different resources, watch videos, and connect during weekly check-ins, family support office hours, prayer plans, monthly webinars, quarterly retreats, and more.
- Carried with Love: A comprehensive guide to caring for your body, mind, and spirit before, during, and after pregnancy and infant loss.
- Miscarriage Resource Brochure and Miscarriage Parent’s Handbook
- Schedule a Comfort Call: Speak with Redbird’s Director of Family Support to help guide you during this time of grief.
- Spiritual Direction: Receive spiritual guidance to walk through the complexity of the spiritual life, and work through the obstacles that grief tends to create.
Behold – Visio Divina
Grieving with Hope: Miscarriage and Pregnancy Loss is a special companion to accompany mothers through processing the loss of a child – in particular – loss by miscarriage or stillbirth.
Co-Authored by Katie Weiss, Founder of Behold, and Margalita Poletunow, LPC, LMHC – a miscarriage and infant loss therapist – this book includes reflections, visio divina, and additional resources. This also includes witness stories by three women who have experienced loss in various forms. It is our hope that this companion provides the opportunity for you or a loved one to feel seen, known, and loved in the cross of child loss.
The Respect Life Office has a number of copies available at no cost to you – please email us at [email protected] to request a copy.
Behold is a program specifically built to give women the skills needed to pray using Visio Divina. Visio Divina allows God to change one’s life by listening to Him and encountering Him through art.
A Mom’s Peace: The loss of an unborn baby is tragic. It’s a shock. It’s not at all what we expected. Many do not know their options or legal rights. Most are unsure what steps to take when the unthinkable occurs. We are here to help. We offer burial remembrance services, and assistance including Catholic guidance throughout the process for families experiencing such a loss. Call 571-781-2419 or 703-347-4805
Miscarriage Hurts: This confidential space is for those who are touched by miscarriage, whether the experience happened recently or years ago. Miscarriage Hurts is a refuge for those who wish to tell their story and begin the process of healing. Email [email protected].
Catholic Miscarriage Support: This website is to meant to provide immediate, practical support for others who have lost a child to miscarriage. Email [email protected].
Here are a few ways you can walk through grief with the sacraments and with your child.
Have a funeral: Request a funeral or burial service through your parish. By saying the Funeral Rite for Infants, we can recognize and reflect on the meaning of this loss.
Name your child: Naming a child allows us to acknowledge the profound effect they had on their lives, even in the womb. We acknowledge the “fearfully and wonderfully made” unique child of God that we have lost. Pray for your child by name, and know that he or she has taken his or her place with God. Read more.
Schedule a Mass: Consider having a Mass said in memory of your child regularly, even after the time of initial grief has past. Or, consider holding a community-wide memorial Mass for miscarried and stillborn infants, where other families who have experienced this loss can gather to pray together.
Request a blessing: The “Blessing of Parents After a Miscarriage,” as written in the Church’s Book of Blessings, can be conferred by a priest or deacon. It is given by the Church specifically to “assist parents in their grief and console them with the blessing of God.”
Shrine of the Unborn: The Shrine of the Unborn at the Church of the Holy Innocents in Manhattan is dedicated to all children who have died before birth. To have a child’s name inscribed in the Book of Life: visit their website.
Other ways of honoring and remembering your baby.
Grieving Together: A Couple’s Journey through Miscarriage by Laura and Franco Fanucci. Written by a couple specifically for couples, understanding that both spouses have experienced a loss and grieve differently. Drawing from Catholic tradition and teaching, Laura and Franco gently guide you through:
After Miscarriage: A Catholic Woman’s Companion to Healing & Hope by Karen Edmisten. A book about grief, healing, and hope after miscarriage. Not afraid to examine the raw emotions that accompany such an experience, the author tells women that they are not alone in reacting strongly, even frighteningly, to their loss and reassures them that hope and healing will come
Journey in Love: A Catholic Mother’s Prayers after Prenatal Diagnosis: A sensitive, supportive resource from an author who knows this suffering firsthand. Kathryn walks with you through the stages of grief, helps you to pray even when you feel you cannot, sheds new light on the comfort and grace of the Church’s traditional prayers, and provides meditations tied to the liturgical year.” Find the free e-book here.
Solace and Strength in the Sorrow of Miscarriage A piece published by the USCCB on the realities and effects of miscarriage, and how we can walk with those we love through it.
Within the Archdiocese of New York, the following Catholic cemeteries have designated places for the burial of infants lost through miscarriage, which are often referred to as “Guardian Angel” plots or shrines. Available at little or no cost, these places offer a resting place of reverence and dignity. We encourage you to contact the cemeteries directly for further information.
- Address: 650 Saddle River Road, Airmont, NY 10952
- Phone Number: 845-352-7220
- The Guardian Angel plot is available for the burial of children.
- Address: 10 W. Stevens Avenue, Hawthorne, NY 10532
- Phone: 914-769-3672
- The Guardian Angel shrine is available for the burial of children.
- Address: 361 Sharrott Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10309
- Phone: 718-356-7738
- The Guardian Angel plot is available for the burial of children.
- Address: 2600 Lafayette Avenue, Bronx, New York 10465
- Phone: 718-792-1133
- A Garden of Innocents has been designated for the burial of children, and a nearby vault includes the babies’ names.
Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral Cemetery
- Address: 263 Mulberry St, New York, NY 10012
- Phone: 212-226-8075 ext. 1008
- The Niche for the Unborn is reserved for the inurnment of unborn children.
- Address: 49-02 Laurel Hill Blvd, Woodside, NY 11377
- Phone: 718-786-8000
- Children may be buried within family plots, rather than in a designated section.
Legal Requirements
In New York State, there are certain legal requirements for the burial of unborn and stillborn children. Catholic cemeteries are familiar with these requirements and can help you navigate the process. Although this is a very difficult time for families, arranging for the funeral and burial of a child is often an important part of the grieving and healing process.
Fetal death certificate: A fetal death certificate is required for the burial of an unborn child at any stage of gestation. A copy of this certificate can be obtained by the mother or her lawful representative (e.g. a funeral director).
Loss of a child at 20 weeks or more of gestation: For children lost at 20 weeks of gestation or more, New York State requires that a funeral home be contacted and a burial or cremation planned for the baby. The best practice is to have a funeral director obtain the fetal death certificate and required disposition permit, and then make arrangements with the hospital for the transfer of a child’s remains.
Loss of a child before 20 weeks of gestation: To arrange a funeral, the best practice is to have a funeral director obtain the fetal death certificate and make the arrangements for the transfer of the child’s remains. Red Bird Ministries provides more information about caring for the body of a child miscarried before 20 weeks: