“Those who cannot afford to purchase plots in perpetuity are buried in common graves that are exhumed after five years, and their bones relocated to the catacombs.” Giving her a moment to take in the information, he continued. “Since your father purchased the plot in perpetuity, it means your mother will not be exhumed. That is a choice now you must make for your father. Do you understand?”
Fact of Fiction? Pretty much fact, with a shade of gray.
In the 18th and 19th century, there was a sharp rise in population in Paris. Church graveyards could no longer contain the bodies, nor could cemeteries contain the number of remains. During that period of time, over 6 million bodies were exhumed and bones moved to the catacombs in Paris.
However, the practice of purchasing a plot in perpetuity or merely leasing a plot, is still practiced today. A plot can be leased for 10, 30, 50, or 100 years. If graves are no longer maintained or visited, or the lease has expired, the remains are exhumed and removed to an ossuary. Otherwise, if it's been purchased in perpetuity, it remains.
The Père Lachaise cemetery ossuary is said to contain over two million remains of exhumed bodies that have been removed from graves to make more room for the incoming corpses. Below is a photo of the entrance where the bones of exhumed bodies find their final resting place together in eternity.
