3 days of rites begin with procession today
The path of remembrance for Senator Edward M. Kennedy will follow the trail of his celebrated life - from his beloved Hyannis Port to his fallen brother’s presidential library in Dorchester, from the Mission Hill church where Kennedy prayed for his daughter to survive her bout with cancer to Arlington National Cemetery, where he will be buried beside his brothers after losing his own yearlong battle.
The elaborately planned tribute is expected to draw high-profile dignitaries, including President Obama, who is slated to give the eulogy Saturday, and thousands of Kennedy’s admirers, who will pay their respects at public visitations and funeral processions from Cape Cod to Boston.
“That’s what we’re going to do in the next few days, is celebrate his life. It’s a remarkable life,’’ Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts said yesterday after visiting the Kennedy family.
A procession will leave Hyannis Port at 1 p.m. today, accompanying Kennedy’s body to Boston for a final journey through a city indelibly marked by his family.
At about 2:15, the procession is expected to wind its way through downtown, first passing through the North End, where his mother was born, then crossing the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway on its way to the State House, and ultimately passing the Bowdoin Street residence of President Kennedy when he first ran for Congress and the federal building that bears his name.
Crowds are encouraged to gather on Hanover Street along the Greenway, on City Hall Plaza, and on the Boston Common in front of the State House.
The procession will end at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, where Kennedy will lie in repose and visitors will be invited to pay their respects today and tomorrow. Expecting crowds, the Kennedy family and advisers decided to extend the public visitation times into the night, if necessary, to accommodate all visitors. The public is also invited to pay their respects tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The casket will be closed.
The funeral accommodations are meant to fulfill some of the last wishes of the senator, who had begun preparing for this goodbye even as he continued to fight aggressive brain cancer.
The visitation will be held at the JFK Library’s Stephen E. Smith Center, where the massive windows offer a stunning view of Dorchester Bay and the city beyond.
Outside the Smith Center, where Profiles in Courage are awarded, the foyer is being feverishly remodeled in honor of the late senator, with new photographs and exhibits highlighting his speeches, including his 1968 eulogy for his brother Robert F. Kennedy and his 1980 address to the Democratic National Convention. Outside, the library’s parking lot is rapidly being converted into a staging area for media that will offer reports on the private events.
Public interest in the events - just two weeks after the death of Kennedy’s sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver - is expected to be high. When Rose Kennedy was buried in 1995, mourners lined the Southeast Expressway, pulling over in the right lane and on exit ramps for a glimpse of the funeral procession. Already yesterday, visitors were lining up in the glassed-in pavilion to sign condolence books for the Kennedy family. Family advisers coordinating the funeral are expecting an outpouring of crowds to say goodbye to the last of a generation of Kennedy leaders. The youngest Kennedy dominated the Senate for 47 years and drew admiration for his commitment to helping the powerless.
The private funeral services begin tomorrow night at 7 p.m. with an invitation-only “celebration of life’’ and memorial service in the Library.
On Saturday morning, after a private family service, the senator’s motorcade will proceed to the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, also known as “the Mission Church,’’ on Mission Hill, for a Mass of Christian Burial. “While his daughter, Kara, was battling lung cancer at a nearby Boston hospital, Senator Kennedy attended Our Lady of Perpetual Help each day and prayed for Kara and her recovery. Over time, the Basilica took on special meaning for him as a place of hope and optimism,’’ a Kennedy aide said in a statement. The church seats about 1,500, but the services will be by invitation only, with limited press access.
Afterward, the procession will continue to Logan International Airport, and his body will be flown to Arlington, Va., for a 5 p.m. burial at Arlington National Cemetery, the resting ground for military and historical figures. Kennedy is expected to be buried beside his brothers, Robert Kennedy and John F. Kennedy, whose grave is marked by an eternal flame; the late president was joined by his widow, Jacqueline Kennedy, and their baby son and stillborn child.
In lieu of flowers, the Kennedy family is requesting contributions to the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the US Senate.
