In the 1850s Indianapolis Catholics began a search for ground for a consecrated cemetery. The custom of burying family members on the farm or on the grounds of their church was becoming impractical. Msgr. Auguste Francois Bessonies, Pastor of St. John the Evangelist Parish and Vicar General of the Diocese of Vincennes, began the search for burial ground for his parishioners. He himself paid for an eighteen acre plot on Bluff Road and established the first Catholic Cemetery in Indianapolis. Originally named St. John Cemetery, in 1891 the cemetery was named Holy Cross Cemetery. In 1870, a second Catholic cemetery, German Cemetery, was established. It later became St. Joseph Cemetery and eventually merged with Holy Cross Cemetery to become part of the Holy Cross Cemeteries Association. In 1914, anticipating future needs, the Holy Cross Cemeteries Association purchased approximately seventy acres of land less than a mile south of the original cemeteries. In 1935, Calvary Cemetery was developed on that land. In 1951, all three cemeteries were joined under the Catholic Cemeteries Association. Calvary Cemetery 435 W. Troy Avenue, Indianapolis, 46225 Phone: 317-784-4439