Graham to Lie in U.S. Capitol Before Funeral
World-renowned evangelist Billy Graham who died on Wednesday, will lie in the U.S. Capitol for two days before his formal funeral next week.
U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell asked his son, Franklin, in a letter to allow people to pay their respects to the celebrated evangelist.
Graham’s viewing in the rotunda will occur Feb. 28 and March 1. He is the first to lie in honor at the Capitol since civil rights icon Rosa Parks in 2005.
A private funeral service is scheduled for March 2. Some 2,300 invitations will go out. The evangelist will be buried beside his wife, Ruth McCue Bell, at the foot of the cross-shaped brick walkway in the Prayer Garden on the library grounds.
Mark DeMoss, a spokesman for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, said invitations to Graham’s funeral will link be extended to President Donald Trump and other former U.S. presidents, with whom Graham often consulted.
“It was Mr. Graham’s explicit intent his funeral service reflect and reinforce the gospel message he preached for more than 60 years,” DeMoss said at a news conference.
“He personally approved the planning and details of this service some years ago,” DeMoss added.
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