Kirkens Korshær opens fifth burial ground for homeless people

Kirkens Korshær has opened a shared burial ground in Holstebro for people who use or have used its drop-in centre, DR reports. It is the organisation’s fifth such resting place in Denmark.

At the southern end of the cemetery in central Holstebro stands a metal figure of Jesus, created by artist Jakob Villerup. The wounded and scratched figure faces a large gravestone without a name.

Socially vulnerable men and women connected to the drop-in centre can be buried there. Former Kirkens Korshær chaplain Anette Ejsing came up with the idea because she objected to many users ending up in an anonymous grave.

“We want to remember people by name. We want to avoid the standard procedure of putting people among the unknown,” Ejsing said.

The first six urns were buried earlier this week. One contained the remains of Erik Møller Sørensen, a 65-year-old man from Holstebro who died three years ago.

His sister, Pia Møller Sørensen, had been waiting for him to receive what she considered a dignified final resting place. The family did not have a grave, and their parents were buried anonymously.

“Erik lived a somewhat difficult life and drank many beers, but he also had periods when he did not drink. He went to the drop-in centre every day,” Pia Møller Sørensen said.

She said she planned to visit the grave and place flowers there from time to time.

The burial ground was financed through private donations, charitable foundations and Holstebro Municipality. Flowers had already been placed by the Jesus figure before the site was officially inaugurated and before the first bronze nameplates were attached to the gravestone.

Similar burial grounds are located in Esbjerg, Vejle, Silkeborg and Fredericia. The one in Holstebro is Kirkens Korshær’s first in central and western Jutland.