A cemetery is a place where History is personal,

where History is noted on every tombstone,

where History is not forgotten.

Our Mother of Sorrows Catholic Cemetery is the only Catholic cemetery in the state of Nevada. There are Catholic sections in many community cemeteries throughout the state.

There has been a Catholic cemetery in Reno since 1879 when a parcel of land was given to St. Mary’s Parish for use as a cemetery. Newspaper records show a burial there in April, 1879. In 1910 St. Mary’s Parish and cemetery became St. Thomas Aquinas Cathedral Parish and cemetery.

There was an Holy Cross Cemetery in Sparks.

In 1927 a parcel of land north of the city was purchased for use as a cemetery by the Diocese. The cemetery was named Mater Dolorosa (Our Mother of Sorrows).

As the community grew there was no adjacent land available for the expansion of St. Thomas Cemetery. It was closed.

It is assumed that the remains from Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery were moved to Our Mother of Sorrows as were those from St. Thomas making Our Mother of Sorrows the only Catholic cemetery in the state.