Hundreds walk by daily, but most would recognize only a handful of the names on the nearly 300 white stone markers at the Jesuit Cemetery. A new book seeks to rectify that, detailing the lives of those interred and, in the process, providing another look at Holy Cross history.
Published this summer, “Beneath the Cross” was written by Sarah Campbell, assistant archivist at the College’s Archives and Special Collections, in celebration of Holy Cross’ 175th anniversary.
“We wanted to provide readers with more information about the men who were buried within the cemetery, as well as the history of the College, through their stories,” she says.
She didn’t know it, but Campbell had been working on the book years before it was envisioned. Over time, she had been compiling information on some of the men buried in the cemetery with thoughts of creating a walking guide of the location, nestled between St. Joseph Memorial Chapel, Brooks Music Hall and Campion House.
“We got asked about [those interred] a lot, so I thought it would be nice to have a finding aid to the cemetery with the little information I gleaned,” she says.
In 2018, Frank Vellaccio, senior vice president emeritus and special advisor to the offices of the president and advancement, asked the Archives staff if they had information about the Jesuits buried in the cemetery over the past 25 years; Campbell shared what she had compiled thus far. With the College’s 175th anniversary approaching, Vellaccio saw the potential for something much larger than a walking guide — a comprehensive book with biographies and photos.
“I can’t overemphasize what a great job Sarah did, the amount of work it took and the love and passion she brought to the task,” he says. “It is great to have a good idea, but the real gift is to have someone able and willing to make that idea a reality.”