More than 2,300 unclaimed Los Angeles County decedents will be laid to rest Thursday in a common grave during an interfaith ceremony in Boyle Heights that has taken place annually for well over a century.
The Ceremony to Commemorate the Unclaimed Dead will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Los Angeles County Crematory and Cemetery.
Local faith leaders will preside over the ceremony, which is held by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, along with the Department of Health Services, Office of Decedent Affairs and the Los Angeles General Medical Center Chaplains.
The individuals being buried, some of whom were homeless or had no next of kin who could be contacted on their behalf, died in 2022.
Bodies are held for three years between the year of death and burial to allow family members to claim cremated remains. The Office of Decedent Affairs, which manages cremation and burial for indigent/unclaimed individuals who die within Los Angeles County, works with families to help with the retrieval of the remains.
The ceremony, which is open to the public, will be live-streamed at facebook.com/events/2047672479355461/. It aims to offer people “an opportunity to pay their respects and stand in solidarity with our most vulnerable community members,” according to a county news release.
Shortly before the ceremony, ashes are placed in a single communal grave with a marker indicating the year of cremation.
The ceremony features interfaith prayers, including the Lord’s Prayer in multiple languages.
Members of the public may attend with advance registration and must present their registration ticket upon arrival.
Online registration is available at eventbrite.com/e/2025-la-county-burial-of-the-unclaimed-dead-tickets-1965582618524?aff=oddtdtcreator. Anyone unable to register online can do so by calling 323-409-6945 for assistance.