Calvary Priest Memorial

Most of what people see and enjoy today as part of the beauty and attractive setting of Saint Mary's Cemetery can be attributed to the efforts of Father David F. McGrath who was pastor of Saint Mary's Parish from 1904-1920. He took a personal interest in the cemetery and is said to have been there every day while he lived in Milford, admiring and improving the landscape of the cemetery, by leveling and grading the grounds.  In landscaping the green fields of the cemetery, it was he who oversaw the construction of the impressive granite walls that frame the cemetery land from Cedar Street to this day.  

From the large boulder near the Irish Round Tower, Fr. McGrath had a tomb hewn to hold bodies during the winter months when the ground froze and burials were not possible.  In his will he established a fund to commission a memorial for the priests' lot adjacent to the Irish Round Tower.  Set on a pedastal of pink granite marble, inscribed with the names of the pastors of Saint Mary's Parish, it is surmounted by a depiction of the scene of Calvary with Christ crucified, with his Blessed Mother, the Beloved Disciple and Mary of Magdala at the foot of the cross.
It was on Christmas Eve of 1920, when Fr. McGrath was laid to rest in his beloved Saint Mary's Cemetery in his family lot beneath an inposing Celtic cross on the brow of the hill of the Old Saint Mary Cemetery, having died unexpectedly on December 21st.