AMERICA’S PREACHER IS LAID TO REST.
WASHINGTON • He felt stung by the politics that helped define his life — and resolved to keep a distance. But in death, the Rev. Billy Graham on Wednesday received a rare tribute from the nation’s top political leaders under the Capitol Rotunda.
“Here lies America’s pastor,” said House Speaker Paul Ryan, gesturing to Graham’s casket under the eye of the dome, surrounded by family, friends, lawmakers and a ring of paintings of the nation’s founders.
“He ministered to all walks, from some of the greats whose statues line this hall — Eisenhower, King, Ford, and Reagan — to the everyday citizens lining up today to pay their respects.”
President Donald Trump recalled that his father, Fred, took him to see Graham preach at Yankee Stadium. “And it was very special,” Trump said. He called Graham “an ambassador for Christ who reminded the world of the power of prayer and the gift of God’s grace.”
“The man we recognize today shared the Gospel with more people, face-to-face, than anyone else in history,” said Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
As the leaders stood by the casket, Trump reached out to touch the bare wood and Ryan bowed his head.
Graham died a week earlier at age 99. Some 30 family members accompanied Graham’s casket to Washington, where he befriended presidents of both parties and counselled others. Graham’s son, Franklin, tweeted a photo Wednesday of family members loading the casket onto a jet emblazoned with “Samaritan’s Purse,” the name of a Christian relief charity he chairs.
Though he met every president since Harry Truman and counselled most, Graham grew wary of politics after Watergate. He was closest to Richard Nixon but later said he felt used by him.
Nonetheless, Graham ministered to other presidents until his health began to fail about 10 years ago.
Former president Bill Clinton recalled seeing one of Graham’s crusades as a child, a profound experience that became more amazing over his life. Graham counselled him as Arkansas governor, and later as president in the White House itself.
“In that little room, he was the same person I saw when I was 11 on that football field,” Clinton said Tuesday after viewing the casket at Graham’s home.
Former president George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, visited Graham’s home on Monday.
In Washington, Ryan said there had been no doubt that Graham would receive the honour of a public viewing in the Rotunda. He shares the honour with 11 presidents and other distinguished Americans.
Graham is only the fourth private person to lie in honour since 1998. The others are two U.S. Capitol Police officers who died in the line of duty in 1998 and civil rights hero Rosa Parks in 2005.