Cremated and Buried Under a Tree

Catholics may be cremated so long as cremation does not demonstrate a denial of belief in the resurrection of the body (Catechism 2301). In a 2016 instruction on cremation, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) declared, “The ashes of the faithful must be laid to rest in a sacred place, that is, in a cemetery or, in certain cases, in a church or an area, which has been set aside for this purpose, and so dedicated by the competent ecclesial authority” (Ad Resurgendum cum Christo 5).

The CDF also said, “In order that every appearance of pantheism, naturalism or nihilism be avoided, it is not permitted to scatter the ashes of the faithful departed in the air, on land, at sea or in some other way” (7). All coffins and cremation containers eventually decay, even if it takes thousands of years. However, using a container that is designed to decay quickly so that the ashes are distributed into the earth and surrounding plants may constitute “scattering” them on the land, which is prohibited.

You should contact a local Catholic cemetery that can provide a suitable container for ashes and may even allow a tree to be planted over the burial site so long as it is done in memory of the deceased and not to promote an unorthodox view of death and the duty to bury the dead.