Cemetery
Mount Carmel is one of the few New York City parishes that has its own parish cemetery. Located adjacent to the site of the original parish church at 26th avenue and 21st Street, it is now maintained by the Catholic Cemeteries office of the Diocese of Brooklyn. It reflects the heritage of the early Irish Catholic settlers of Astoria, many of who arrived here to escape "The Great Hunger", as the famine resulting from the potato blight of the late 1840's in Ireland has come to be called. The parish has started to conduct a public rosary there on or near All Souls Day to recall these fellow members of the Communion of Saints who have gone before us. The following websites provide fascinating pictures and details about the cemetery and its significance:
http://sorabji.com/pictures/cemeteries/Famine_Cemetery/
http://www.pefagan.com/gen/astoria/mtcarm/mtcminsc.htm
http://www.astorialic.org/topics/cemeteries/irish_p.php
http://www.flickr.com/photos/2kjb/1559534424/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ddc95/2414218585/
http://www.forgotten-ny.com/STREET%20SCENES/Astoria/astoria.html
