Holy Ghost Catholic Cemetery Arch - Dickeyville, Wisconsin - Freestanding Arches on Waymarking.com

My Commentary:
The side supports are brick, fifteen foot in height, and are topped with a concrete base with an orb on a pedestal. The actual arch is wrought iron with two arched bands and wire webbing between them. Atop the uppermost band is wrought iron scrollwork and an ornate cross. The words of this prayer is on the wire webbing:

Most Merciful Jesus
Grant Them Eternal Rest

Information on the Cemetery:

Original cemetery site dates to the founding of the Holy Ghost Parish in 1872. In 1920, the layout was altered to accommodate the earliest folk-art installations created by Father Mathias Wernerus. At this time, Wernerus directed that some trees be cleared from the cemetery, and the space was reorganized. In addition to a fence and entry gate, some burial plots were shifted to make room for a central straight path leading directly south to the Crucifixion Group.

The cemetery contains elements of the Holy Ghost Park folk art installations. The first is the Crucifixion Group, a statue group on a pedestal bought in 1920 to commemorate the deaths of three Dickeyville men in World War I. Wernerus embellished the pedestal and flower urns with all manner of decorative materials set into concrete, including glass, stone, shells, china, and gems. This represents Wernerus's first foray into the medium for which the Holy Ghost Park would become famous. The second installation is the Grotto of the Holy Eucharist, located at the northeastern corner of the cemetery. It is an open-fronted structure with a highly decorated niched altar inside, constructed of concrete panels and encrusted with tiles, stones, shells etc.

The Holy Ghost Cemetery dates to the founding of the parish on this site in 1874. Since that time, historic mapping and aerial photographs suggest the location of the cemetery has remained the same. However, the layout of the space was rearranged in 1920 at the direction of Father Mathias Wernerus. At this time, Wernerus oversaw the clearing of trees from the cemetery, the construction of a fence and brick entry posts with a wrought iron gate, and the reorganization of the space to accommodate a central pathway leading directly south to the Crucifixion Group."

- Wisconsinhistory.org

Type: Gateway Subtype: Municipal/Regional Entrance Location: Holy Ghost Catholic Cemetery

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