The Society
The Society of St Joseph of Arimathea is a public nonprofit (501c3) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina dedicated to ensure that no deceased infant or child is left unclaimed in hospitals and to assist loved ones with cremation services and burial. The Society claims all children who die in the hospital but are unwanted by their families and we help those families who want to bury their children but do not have the financial resources to do so. We work closely with the chaplains and administration officials of local hospitals and are currently working with them to create a nationwide network of churches and local hospitals to ensure that no child is unwanted and all are able to receive a proper burial. Since our founding on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception in 2016, we have provided financial assistance and/or burial for nearly 800 children.
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Our Work
Our primary work is to provide financial assistance to families who have lost children but are unable to pay for cremation. Working with funeral homes, we cover the cost of cremation. We have received official permission from the City of Winston-Salem to open a new burial ground for those who do not have a place for burial. We also claim all infants who die but remain unclaimed by their family. They will receive a proper requiem and burial in our churchyard.
Our current ministry partners are:
Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center
Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist
Hayworth-Miller Funeral Home
The Burial of Infants
Image from the burial (30 children) on May 22, 2022.
Image from the burial (30 children) on May 22, 2022.
Flowers at the Society Shrine of the Holy Guardian Angels.
On April 29, 2021, 64 infants were laid to rest. The burial office is said from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. To date, 634 children have been buried in the Society’s cemetery.
The Society Shrine and Cemetery
The Society’s cemetery was established in 2020. All children served by the Society may be buried there at the parent’s request and all children in the custody of the Society are buried here. Currently, 634 children are buried in the Society’s cemetery.