< Back to front page Text size – +

Public wake, private funeral planned for Eunice Kennedy Shriver

E-mail|Link|Comments () August 12, 2009 07:26 PM

By Byan Marquard, Globe Staff

A wake open to the public will be held Thursday for Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the founder of the Special Olympics who died Tuesday.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver

The Shriver family announced today that those mourning the death of Mrs. Shriver may go to Our Lady of Victory Roman Catholic Church in Centerville, on Cape Cod. The wake will be held for six hours, beginning at 1 p.m.

Beginning at 6 p.m., the Rev. Richard Fragomeni, an associate professor of liturgy and preaching at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, will lead a half-hour prayer service.

"The family invites the public to attend the wake and to share with them in mourning and celebrating Mrs. Shriver," her family said in a statement issued this evening.

A funeral Mass for Mrs. Shriver will be held at 10 a.m. Friday in Saint Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church in Hyannis, the family's statement said.

Attendance at the Mass is restricted to family and invited guests; the event is not open to the public. Those wishing to watch may do so via the Internet. The Mass will be broadcast live at www.eunicekennedyshriver.org.

Before the funeral Mass, Special Olympics athletes and law enforcement officers will carry the Special Olympics Torch to the church. A hearse carrying Mrs. Shriver's casket, with the family walking behind it, will follow.

Burial will be private and the Shriver family said it will not release information until after the interment.

Also Thursday, an informal open house to celebrate Mrs. Shriver's life and accomplishments will be held in the Cape Cod Resort and Conference Center in Hyannis for those associated with the Special Olympics and Best Buddies, a nonprofit organization that assists those with intellectual disabilities. Mrs. Shriver's son, Anthony, founded Best Buddies 20 years ago.

The open house will run from 2 to 8 p.m.

Mrs. Shriver, 88, had suffered a series of strokes in recent years. Her family said in a statement that she died at 2 a.m. Tuesday at Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis.

To read the Globe obituary, click here.