An excavation in the earth for the burial of a corpse. It was called loculus in the times of the catacombs, and was dug or hewn into the tufa or porcelain earth outside the city walls. The Church admits single and ancestral graves and family plots for members of the same family. Where there is no Catholic cemetery, the Church requires that a separate space be granted for the burial of Catholics, and, if this is refused, the single graves must be blessed. No ownership can be claimed by individuals.