Catholic Cemeteries Association of the Diocese of Cleveland

The Callistian Guild

In the dawn of the third century, during the time of Saint Callistus, followers of the Christian faith began separating their places of interment from those used by pagans. While pagan belief accepted some form of existence after death, it was not eternal. Eternal life in Christ was the foundation of Christian faith and the catalyst for creating places of burial separate from those of pagans. In an atmosphere of persecution and martyrdom the Christian faith flourished and to acknowledge the faithful, cemeteries belonging to the Church were established.

One of Saint Callistus' roles in the early church was to administer the cemetery of the church in Rome and to this day, the catacombs of Saint Callistus are among the greatest and most important in Rome. It was his responsibility in the name of the Church to ensure that each person received a worthy burial, including the poor and enslaved.

In c. 217, Saint Callistus ascended to the papacy and in c. 222, became a martyr. It is in his memory that we provide support for the work which is done in his name.

The Callistian Guild is an organization dedicated to the fundamental principle that the poorest of God's children are entitled to be buried with dignity. Burial of the poor with proper respect is the foundation upon which the Guild was built, and its members are the bricks and mortar which have held it together over the years. Our predecessors had the strong faith and commitment to create an organization which has truly dedicated itself to providing honor in death, and its current members continue that legacy. The membership of the Guild is made up of groups of individuals and companies affiliated with providing services at the time of death and their participation is critical to the Guild's continued success.

Providing a burial with dignity means that a deceased person receives all of the services related to a proper funeral and members of the Guild provide their respective services at cost, thus ensuring that the poor receive a worthy burial. A full funeral is provided which includes the services of a funeral director, a funeral mass in a Catholic Church, all transportation needs, a casket and vault, flowers, a plot in a Catholic cemetery and a monument. The Catholic Cemeteries Association serves as administrator of the funds and pays the funeral expenses when a request for assistance is made.

It is through the generous support of our members and those of you who make personal donations which enables the Callistian Guild to join the Catholic Church in assuming the responsibility of providing a dignified burial for the poor. We thank you for your kind and generous commitment to this cause.

If you would like to make a donation, please make your check payable to The Callistian Guild and mail to:

The Callistian Guild
10000 Miles Ave.
P.O. Box 605125
Cleveland, OH 44105

Callistian Guild 2007 Membership
Akron Burial Vault American Limousine Services American Vault Co. Bauer Laubenthal Funeral Home Baumgardner Products Co. Behm Family Funeral Homes Berry & Martens and Sons FH Bican Brothers Funeral Home Bodnar-Mahoney FH/Cremation Svc. Bogner, David Family FH Boyd, E.F. & Son Funeral Homes Brennan's Floral Gift Shop Brickman DiDonato FH Brown Forward Funeral Home Brunner Funeral Home Busch Funeral & Crematory Svcs. Butler & Son Funeral Home Carey Funeral Home Carlson Funeral Homes Catholic Cemeteries Association Chambers Funeral Homes Cirino Brothers Limousine Svc. Cleveland Memorials Cold Spring Memorial Group Craciun Berry Funeral Homes Daily Monument Co. Davis Babcock Funeral Home DeJohn Flynn Mylott FHs DiCicco & Sons Funeral Homes Dovin Funeral Home Dunn-Quigley Ciriello & Carr FH Faulhaber, Donald A. FH Ferfolia Funeral Homes Fortuna Funeral Home Gibbs & Nesbitt Funeral Home Glasier Casket Co. Golub Funeral Home Golubski Funeral Home Golubski Deliberato FH Great Lakes Crematory Hilliard-Mullaney-Rospert FH Hummel Funeral Home Jardine Funeral Home Jenkins Funeral Chapel Johnson Romito Funeral Home Komorowski Funeral Home Kucko-Anthony-Kertesz FH Laubenthal Funeral Home	Mack Vault Co. Maher-Melbourne FH Mallory DeHaven Carlson FH Malloy Memorial Service Martens, Walter & Sons FH Martin, HM Funeral Home Matthews International Corp. Mayfair Memorials McGorray Bros. Funeral Home McMahon-Coyne-Vitantonio FHs Miklus Florist Milano Monuments Monica's Flowers Monreal Funeral Home Mullalley Funeral Home Nela Florist Northcoast Memorials North Hill Rock of Ages Memorials Ohio Burial Case Co. Ohio Vault Works Potti Funeral Homes Riczo Funeral Home Ripepi, A. & Sons FH Ripepi Funeral Home Rossi Funeral Home Rybicki & Son Funeral Homes Sauer-Good-Powell FH Schulte & Mahon-Murphy FH Schuster Straker O'Connor FH Semerano Monuments & Flowers Silva-Hostetler Funeral Home Sollberger Stone Industries Solon Granite Memorial Wks Sotak Auto Livery Spoerr Vault Co. St. John Funeral Home Steinbauer Funeral Home Stewart & Calhoun FH Stroud Lawrence FH Tomon & Sons Funeral Home Vic's Floral, Inc. Vicchiarelli Funeral Home Vodrazka Funeral Home Wilhelmy Flowers Yorktowne Caskets Inc. Yurch Funeral Home Zaback Ducro Funeral Home Zabor Funeral Home
For more information, please call 216-641-7575 or visit Callistian Guild for fund raising dates.