The parish cemetery, nestled behind our beautiful Gothic-style stone church, is the last resting place for many of our pioneer families, mostly of Irish nationality, who settled in Osgoode and the southern part of Gloucester Township.  As one reads the inscriptions on the weather-beaten tombstones, Native of County Armagh, Ireland Co., Cork County, Carlow, Down, Kilkenny, Tyrone, Wexford, etc., one realizes these early immigrants from Ireland were a hardy folk and hardy they had to be. They knew the reality of suffering, hunger, illness and even death. Along with other pioneers, they helped open this country and gave us a safe, happy environment in which we live.

As early as 1834, the Bytown Prescott Stage Coach passed this way. The 1851 map of Gloucester Township shows the road running in a northerly direction from the Osgoode boundary, then heading in a north-westerly direction toward the High Road and Cunningham’s Hotel, then to Hogs Back and on to Bytown.

Gone are the horse and buggy days. The Post Office and Blacksmith shops are no more. This once quiet, little hamlet is now surrounded by a thriving industrial area, modern stores, etc. Bank Street (formerly Highway 31), now a major highway, stretches from the St. Lawrence Seaway into the heart of our nation’s capital, the city of Ottawa.

Our Lady of the Visitation Cemetery continues to be used as our community burial place with connections to French, Irish, Ukrainian, Polish, Dutch and many cultural communities.  A Cemetery Board was formed in 1985 with Board members and a list of Bylaws is posted on our cemetery sign. 

There is a Columbarium in the Northwest corner with 48 niches for cremation burial. 

Our community has a Spring and Fall cleanup and students from St. Mark High School help out on their service day or earn community service hours. Each year there is a Cemetery Mass in the Fall.  Many volunteers work to keep our cemetery beautiful.

Cemeteries are sacred places where the dead are laid to rest with dignity; therefore, visitors are expected to behave respectfully.

For more cemetery information, please contact cemetery@olvottawa.ca.

Below are some photos of our beautiful cemetery.