Diocese of El Paso assures “everything is normal” at Mt. Carmel Cemetery

A picture of Mt. Carmel cemetery that was shared on Facebook left many El Pasoans wondering if the property had been vandalized.

In the photo shared Sunday, visible tire tracks appear in the mud and headstones across the cemetery appear to be knocked over.

ABC-7 spoke with Elizabeth O’Hara, Director of communications for the Diocese of El Paso, who said that no damage has been done to Mt. Carmel Cemetery.

“A lot of heavy equipment is here that is normally out here,” she said. “It is how they dig the holes for the various burials that are done here.”

O’Hara said that the tire marks in the ground were a result of the heavy machinery driving through wet mud.

“When heavy machinery went through it, it dug up some of the dirt,” she said. “Some people feared that someone had come and done wheelies, (but that’s) not true at all.”

O’Hara said that some of the headstones on the property had to be moved in order to create spaces for family members who want to be buried next to each other. All moved headstones will be returned to their original locations.

December was a busy month for Mt. Carmel Cemetery, which saw an average of five burials per day.