Charter Bus & Group Shuttle Service to Holy Sepulchre Cemetery

Holy Sepulchre Cemetery: the Archdiocese's home ground.

Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, at 3301 West Cheltenham Avenue, is the Roman Catholic cemetery of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Established in 1894, it sits at the Northwest Philadelphia and Cheltenham Township line and has been the burial ground for generations of Philadelphia Catholic families — parish members, clergy, and public figures including former Mayor Frank Rizzo.

We serve Holy Sepulchre every week. Our chauffeurs are familiar with the West Cheltenham Avenue entrance, the office drive, and the coordination rhythm of a full Catholic Mass followed by procession to committal.

About Holy Sepulchre

Holy Sepulchre is one of the largest and most active cemeteries operated by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The grounds span the border of Northwest Philadelphia and Cheltenham Township in Montgomery County. Although the mailing address is Philadelphia, the property is physically located in Cheltenham.

The cemetery includes both traditional in-ground sections and a large mausoleum complex. Families arriving for a committal typically enter through the main drive off West Cheltenham Avenue and are directed by cemetery staff to the appropriate grave or mausoleum crypt.

Because Holy Sepulchre is a Catholic cemetery, most services here follow a standard rhythm: funeral Mass at the family's parish or at a large city church, followed by a procession to Cheltenham for the graveside or mausoleum committal. Our chauffeurs are practiced with this two-stop day.

Address, entrance, and staging

• Address: 3301 West Cheltenham Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19150
• Physical location: Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County (mailing address is Philadelphia)
• Main phone: 844-451-9614 (Archdiocese Catholic Cemeteries)
• Historical listing: 215-247-0691 (older cemetery office number, still occasionally answered)
• Office hours: Mon–Sat 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Sun 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM (extended hours schedule)

Charter buses enter from the main drive off West Cheltenham Avenue. The cemetery office staff directs procession vehicles to the appropriate section or to the mausoleum entrance. Because Holy Sepulchre handles a high volume of services, staff coordination is essential — our chauffeurs check in on arrival rather than proceeding directly to the grave.

If the family will be gathering at the mausoleum, tell us at booking. Mausoleum committals allow a shorter guest walk from the vehicle and often work well for elderly family members.

Drive times to Holy Sepulchre

Approximate off-peak drive times. Cheltenham Avenue and Broad Street traffic can add 10 to 20 minutes during the morning and afternoon rush.

• Center City Philadelphia: 20 to 30 minutes via Broad Street or Ogontz Avenue
• Philadelphia International Airport (PHL): 35 to 50 minutes
• Kirk & Nice (Roxborough / Huntingdon Valley): 15 to 25 minutes
• Craft-Givnish (multiple locations): 20 to 35 minutes
• Ciavarelli Family Funeral Homes (Conshohocken): 25 to 35 minutes
• John F. Fluehr & Sons (Northeast Philly): 20 to 30 minutes
• McIlvaine-Speakman (Northeast / Bucks): 25 to 40 minutes

The rhythm of a Catholic service to Holy Sepulchre

Most Catholic services with committal at Holy Sepulchre run in this order. Our chauffeurs plan the day around this rhythm.

1. Family gathers at the funeral home for a viewing or brief prayer (30 to 60 minutes).
2. Procession to the parish church or to a designated funeral church.
3. Funeral Mass (typically 45 to 60 minutes for a Catholic funeral Mass; longer for a Requiem or Vigil Mass).
4. Procession to Holy Sepulchre. The funeral director's lead car sets the pace; our chauffeur follows with hazard lights on.
5. Committal at the graveside or mausoleum (10 to 20 minutes).
6. Return shuttle to the repast venue or funeral home.

Total time from initial family pickup to repast drop is typically 3.5 to 5 hours. Our standard hourly package covers this comfortably; longer services are quoted per the itinerary.

What we typically arrange for Holy Sepulchre services

• Family stretch limousine from the funeral home to the parish church to the cemetery, then to the repast — a single vehicle across the whole day
• Motor coach for the parish congregation traveling together from church to cemetery
• Mini-coach for extended family too large for a stretch limo but too small for a full coach
• Sprinter van for elderly family, mobility-limited guests, or airport arrivals joining directly
• Repast return shuttle from the cemetery back to a Cheltenham, Roxborough, or Center City restaurant

Working with Catholic funeral directors

The Catholic funeral homes we most often coordinate with for Holy Sepulchre committals include:

• Kirk & Nice Funeral Home — multi-location, high-volume Philadelphia operator
• Craft-Givnish Funeral Homes — multiple Philadelphia and suburban locations
• Ciavarelli Family Funeral Homes — established Conshohocken family firm
• John F. Fluehr & Sons — Northeast Philadelphia and Bucks County
• McIlvaine-Speakman — Northeast Philadelphia and Delaware Valley
• Koller Funeral Home — Northeast Philadelphia

Each of these directors knows Holy Sepulchre's arrival protocols well. If you tell us your funeral director's name at booking, we will call them directly to confirm procession order, church departure time, and cemetery arrival window. See our funeral home shuttle page for the broader partnership approach.

Traffic and route planning

The two variables that most affect timing on a Holy Sepulchre service:

• Broad Street (Route 611) between Center City and Cheltenham Ave. Slow during morning rush and lunch hour. If the Mass is in Center City, we build 15 to 20 minutes of buffer into the procession departure.
• Cheltenham Avenue at the cemetery entrance. Left turns into the cemetery cross oncoming traffic. Our chauffeur pulls into the right lane well ahead of the entrance to signal the procession's approach and allow the funeral director's lead car to complete the turn without breaking the line.

Repast venues after a Holy Sepulchre service

Because Holy Sepulchre sits at the Cheltenham / Northwest Philadelphia edge, families often gather at Center City, Northeast Philly, or Elkins Park venues after the committal. The venues we shuttle to most often:

• Cannstatter Volksfest-Verein — 9130 Academy Road, Northeast Philadelphia. Traditional banquet hall used regularly for repast luncheons. 20 to 25 minutes from the cemetery.
• William Penn Inn — 1017 DeKalb Pike, Gwynedd. 25 to 35 minutes. Private memorial-luncheon rooms.
• Maggiano's Little Italy — 1201 Filbert Street, Center City. Four private banquet rooms seating 20 to 75 each. 25 to 35 minutes.
• Local parish halls — if the family's parish hosts the repast, we shuttle between the cemetery and the parish.
• Family homes in Cheltenham, Elkins Park, Wyncote, or Melrose Park — short cemetery-to-neighborhood loops as many times as needed.

See our repast luncheon transportation page for a longer venue list.

Booking a Holy Sepulchre service

Call (267) 223-4647 for anything inside 72 hours. For services further out, use the quote form at the top of this page.

Please share at booking:

• Funeral home name and phone
• Parish or funeral church name and address
• Cemetery arrival time as set by the funeral director
• Section or mausoleum location if known
• Whether a repast is planned and where
• Any mobility or medical considerations

Common two-parish scenarios

Not every Catholic funeral is a straight line from parish to Holy Sepulchre. Two common variations we plan around:

• Vigil service the night before at one parish, funeral Mass the next morning at a different parish. A family limousine holds across both days; a motor coach or mini-coach is booked only for the burial day. We coordinate the vehicle switch through the funeral director.
• Funeral Mass at a Center City cathedral (SS. Peter & Paul, St. John the Evangelist) rather than the family's home parish. Adds Broad Street travel time to the procession. We build the extra buffer into the departure schedule so the cemetery arrival stays on plan.

Weather-day contingencies

Philadelphia winters bring occasional ice or snow on service days. Our chauffeurs will not decline a booked service unless the roads are formally closed by PennDOT or the cemetery closes. What we will do:

• Depart earlier from the funeral home to preserve the on-time cemetery arrival.
• Use a rear-drive or all-wheel-drive vehicle if snow is on the ground.
• Coordinate with the cemetery care team on interior-road plowing status. Holy Sepulchre plows quickly given the service volume, but some deeper sections may be inaccessible in a heavy storm.
• Offer to reschedule at no rescheduling fee if the family or the funeral director requests it in advance.

Multi-generational family logistics

Catholic funerals often draw three or four generations of family — grandparents in their 80s or 90s, adult children in their 40s and 50s, teenage grandchildren, and young great-grandchildren. Getting all of them from the parish to the cemetery to the repast without anyone getting stranded is real work. Ways we make it easier:

• Dedicated Sprinter for elderly relatives, with door-to-door pickup at their homes so they never have to navigate parking.
• Motor coach for the parish congregation and middle-generation family, with a single lot pickup at the church.
• Family stretch limo for immediate family in the procession lead position.
• Repast return shuttle for anyone who came in the coach, with drops at the elderly relatives' homes before the last drop back at the church.

All under a single quote if you tell us the whole plan at booking.