Permanent Deacon Paul Quinn blesses the burial site at St. Francis de Sales Cemetery during the interment of the cremated remains of 28 babies who died in miscarriage. The Angel Ministry, founded by funeral director Trish Marchesani, ensures these infants are laid to rest with dignity, giving families a place to grieve and pray. (Photo: St. Francis de Sales Parish)
At St. Francis de Sales Parish in Lenni, Delaware County, a quiet but powerful ministry is bearing witness to the dignity of life in one of its most fragile forms.
Known as the Angel Ministry, it offers burial for babies whose lives ended in miscarriage – lovingly called “angels” – providing them with the respect and reverence every human life deserves.
Two years ago, the Angel Ministry took root through the compassion of Trish Marchesani, a funeral director and co-owner of McCausland, Garrity, Marchesani Funeral Home and Crematory in Glenolden.
Several local hospitals approached Marchesani with a unique request: Would she take responsibility for the miscarried babies whose remains had been entrusted to the hospitals by their families, and provide respectful care and cremation?
Marchesani agreed, and over the past two years she has received and cremated the remains of 28 babies. She personally purchased a gravesite at St. Francis de Sales Cemetery, ensuring that these little ones would have a dignified place to rest.
On Sept. 8, the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the 28 angels were lovingly laid to rest. Permanent Deacon Paul Quinn led the burial service at the cemetery.
Mark Griswold, parish life director at St. Francis de Sales, described the moment as “sacred,” saying the ministry “values the lives of these babies (and) gives them a dignified place for them to be laid to rest.”
The burial plot sits beneath a tree dedicated to Ryan Ferris, a 14-year-old parish school student who heroically lost his life in a house fire in 1998. After waking and saving his family, Ryan re-entered the burning home to rescue their 100-pound Irish wolfhound mix, Homey. Both perished.
“He was a very devout young boy and was actually thinking about one day entering the seminary to become a priest,” Griswold said of Ferris. “These little angels rest under the tree of whom the parish considers an angel.”
Ryan’s mother gave permission for the burial site to be located beneath her son’s tree – a gesture that connects two profound stories of love and sacrifice.
A rainbow appears over St. Francis de Sales Cemetery in Lenni, Delaware County, during the burial of the cremated remains of 28 babies who died in miscarriage.
During the service, as prayers were said, a rainbow appeared in the sky above the cemetery. For those present, it was a reminder of God’s faithfulness, grace, hope, and mercy.
A small plaque now marks the burial site, offering a tangible place for families to visit, pray, and remember.
Griswold notes that in time, families who entrusted their babies’ remains to hospitals may want to know where their child is buried. “They have a place to come, pray, and pay their respects,” he said.
Marchesani and the Angel Ministry plan to continue partnering with hospitals for years to come, receiving the remains of miscarried babies and ensuring their proper burial.
For Kelly Breaux, co-founder of Red Bird Ministries, this kind of work is vital to the pastoral life of the Church. The organization, which is endorsed by the archdiocesan Office for the New Evangelization, is a Catholic grief-support ministry that offers support to parents grieving the loss of a child.
“As Catholics we pray for and bury the dead, no matter the size of our baby,” Breaux said. “We honor and give dignity to that tiny little life that was created in the image of God. The burial of any baby allows parents to honor the truth that their child’s life, however brief, was real, sacred, and loved.”
Breaux says that burying miscarried babies provides a tangible way to express love and grief – a place to visit, pray, and remember.
“It transforms what the world may try to dismiss as ‘just an early loss’ into a sacred act of recognition and reverence. It breathes life into a culture of death. In that space, hearts can begin to heal because the burial restores order to the chaos of miscarriage.”
Support groups like Red Bird Ministries provide families with understanding, community, and faith-filled accompaniment.
“They find community instead of isolation, prayer instead of platitudes, and formation that integrates both emotional and spiritual healing,” Breaux said.
Share this story