Family says items routinely stolen from Woodbridge mausoleum

Lucy Femia will never stop mourning the deaths of her father and sister, but she says her family’s sadness has been magnified by the theft of mementos and charms they leave at their respective resting places at a Woodbridge cemetery.

Femia says the thefts have been going on for several years at the mausoleum at Queen of Heaven Catholic Cemetery.

“This is hard enough to come and see my dad here, died at the age of 69, and to come here and have someone steal from him is disgusting. Totally disgusting,” she said. “It’s bad enough taking from the living … but to invade a cemetery? There’s no words. No words.”

“This is sacred,” she added. “People come in here to pray and to be with their loves ones … It’s sad.”

Femia says a necklace left at her sister’s plot by her nephew on Mother’s Day was also stolen and she wants the cemetery, which is run by the Archdiocese of Toronto, to install cameras inside the mausoleum.

“They should have cameras because people are alone in here,” she argued. “Anything could happen. You could get attacked, you could fall and hurt yourself.

“You spend so much money to bury your loved ones, you come here to grieve and you don’t feel safe. Something should be done, they should step up to the plate.”

Femia said when she approached the cemetery about installing cameras inside the mausoleum she was told it was a privacy issue.

“For people’s privacy,” she said. “Because people cry. We are all going to cry, this is a place where you come to cry. Nobody is going to see it, other than the people in the office.”

A spokesperson for the Catholic Cemeteries and Funeral Services of the Archdiocese of Toronto told CityNews the family has been told numerous times not to leave valuables inside the mausoleum and that it is not responsible for stolen or missing items.

“We are saddened and disappointed to learn of the missing item that was left at a crypt,” spokesperson Amy Profenna told CityNews in an email. “Our cemetery by-laws clearly state that only artificial flowers and a rosary are permitted on a crypt front. Items of value are not permitted.”

“The family … has been told on a number of occasions not to place items of value on the crypt front. Regrettably they have not taken our advice.”

Femia says the items don’t carry much monetary value, but their sentimental value is immeasurable.

“All they tell you is don’t bring nothing of value. It’s not value … it’s something that’s very special to us. Each charm has a meaning … It doesn’t matter the value,” she adds. “It could be a dollar.”

CityNews also spoke with others at the mausoleum who say they too have had items disappear over the years.

Despite those complaints the cemetery maintains its security is more than appropriate.

“We have industry leading security protocols in place such as security cameras at the entrance to the cemetery, security cameras at the entrances to the mausoleum, security keypads in place to open doors … Incidents like this are quite isolated at Queen of Heaven Cemetery,” Profenna said

That’s little comfort to Femia, who says the thefts have left her family feeling violated.

“This is our plot we paid for this. It’s ours. This is his (my father’s) home. So don’t come into his home and touch. Don’t take from him.

“It means everything to us because that’s all we have left of my dad. To have someone come and take it from him, it hurts.”