Bishop John Noonan | Diocese of Orland website

Paulina Toledo, a mother and pro-life advocate, shared her experience of loss and healing after two miscarriages. Speaking about the support she received, Toledo said, “I think when you’re given the gift of being a mom, especially after experiencing two miscarriages, you know when you’re given the gift of life and you fervently want to protect it and advocate for it.”

Toledo found comfort through the Kingdom of Heaven ministry at Queen of Angels Cemetery in Winter Park. The ministry provides burial services for miscarried children and babies who died shortly after birth. Her first miscarriage occurred at five weeks and was described by doctors as a chemical pregnancy, with no remains to bury. Still, she and her husband named their child Marylily.

Her second miscarriage happened at eight weeks. “I was eight weeks pregnant. It was the Monday before I was supposed to hear his heartbeat. We believe it was a boy. We named him Santiago. We were going to make sure everything was okay,” she recalled.

Toledo recognized the signs from her previous experience and knew what was happening before an ultrasound could confirm it. “My child was more than a clump of cells. I knew he most likely had a heart that was beating. I knew that he looked like a little jellybean.” She added, “I saw my son. I held my son... This was our meeting... And this is just how I was going to welcome him into the world and send him back home to Jesus.”

Following her loss, Toledo reached out to Deacon Mark Fry at Queen of Angels Cemetery for support. She said, “God just gave him this grace to be able to minister to me in that moment.” With help from the Kingdom of Heaven ministry and DeGusipe Funeral Home, they were able to hold a ceremony for their son Santiago.

“It’s very gracious to enter into that healing because of that ministry,” Toledo said.

A month later, Toledo became pregnant again with her daughter due in November. Despite some fear about another possible miscarriage, she expressed hope: “As parents our goal is for our kids to get to heaven… two of my babies already made it. They’re in heaven. They’re praying for us and they’re interceding for us.”

She reflected on grief as part of faith: “The grief just sanctifies you, honestly, because whenever we grieve, we unite our heart to Jesus... When you’re open to life, you’re also open to the end of that life and you’re open to surrendering the life you create to God.”

Deacon Fry began his work at Queen of Angels in December 2024 and has presided over prayer services for families grieving losses from five weeks gestation up through one week old infants—regardless of religious background.

“I didn’t know the scope of it. I have to guard my own mind and heart at times because I can get caught up in it as well,” Fry said. “It’s heartbreaking at a whole different level, but having this opportunity has been overwhelmingly positive.”

He explained how families from various backgrounds participate: “We have a number of families that are Baptist or claim no faith at the moment, but are more than willing to allow this random Catholic deacon to talk to them about their lives and come out for a service early on a Saturday morning... They allow me to walk with them and allow the cemetery to be a place of healing for them.”

Much outreach comes via word-of-mouth or hospital referrals; Deacon Walt Skinner from Winnie Palmer Hospital often refers grieving families: Fry called him “the ministry’s greatest champion” for sharing information about sacred burial options.

Since 2021, 122 names have been engraved on a memorial stone commemorating children buried through this ministry.

Fry views these moments as opportunities not only for healing but also evangelization: “No matter what (the parents) know about the Catholic faith, to see that we’re open to and welcome anyone to one of the Corporal Works of Mercy — burying the dead — is meaningful... But Jesus never said anything in the Bible about what faith they had to be... We’re making it available with the understanding you’re going to see a deacon there and there will be a prayer service.” He continued: “I’ve never had anyone... say ‘No thank you.’ No one turns down a blessing from God.”

He concluded: “It’s an opportunity during one of the saddest times of a person’s life... And to be open to that is such a blessing.”

Queen of Angels Cemetery operates within The Diocese of Orlando, which includes nine counties across Central Florida—Brevard, Lake, Marion, Orange, Osceola, Polk, Seminole, Sumter and Volusia—and oversees 79 parishes under Bishop James Noonan.

For more information on Kingdom of Heaven ministry or Queen of Angels Cemetery in Winter Park visit their website.