He lived big, and he died big. Thousands turned out last week for the public viewing and funeral services of Philadelphia legend Frank Rizzo, who died suddenly last Tuesday of a massive heart attack. Thursday, 14,000 mourners lined the Benjamin Franklin parkway near Logan Circle outside the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul for Rizzo's viewing. For nine hours they filed past his casket, each catching a glimpse of the former mayor dressed in a gray suit and red striped tie. For several hours, Rizzo's wife Carmella and several family members stood nearby. Friday, approximately 3,000 attended the Mass of Christian Burial at the cathedral. Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua and Rizzo family friend Rev. Richard Skelly, a pastor from Delaware County, presided over the mass. "On this day we thank God for giving Frank Rizzo his earthly life in Philadelphia," Bevilacqua said. "And on this day we thank God for giving Frank Rizzo his eternal life in heaven." Hundreds more gathered outside with dozens of police officers and representatives of the media. Campaign workers handed out leftover signs from Rizzo's most recent bid for the mayor's office. Among the dignitaries in attendance: Pennsylvania Governor Robert Casey, U.S. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh, U.S. Senator Arlen Spector and Philadelphia Mayor Wilson Goode. After the mass, pallbearers lowered Rizzo's casket into the hearse as officers froze in salute and a bagpiper played Amazing Grace. Friends of Rizzo lingered outside the church and reminisced about his seventy years in the city. Then, a procession miles long and consisting of over two hundred cars, trucks and motorcycles escorted the former mayor from the church, proceeding on a course which brought the former mayor around City Hall one final time before heading up Broad Street. Thousands more lined the route extending from Center City through North Philadelphia. The motorcade's final destination, and Rizzo's final resting place, was the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Cheltenham Township. As the casket was interred, officers fired a 21-gun salute and a bugler played taps.
The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.
DonatePlease note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.