The body of evangelist Billy Graham returned to Charlotte Thursday afternoon after lying in honor at the US Capitol in Washington. A funeral and burial are planned Friday at the Billy Graham Library campus for the revered evangelist, who died Feb. 21 at age 99.
As a light rain fell, a hearse carrying Graham's body in a pine casket pulled up in front of the library. A crowd of family, friends and staff of Graham's ministry watched as pallbearers in black suits marched the coffin into the library.
The coffin, made by Louisiana prison inmates, was to remain overnight at the library, until Friday's midday funeral service.
The funeral will be in a massive white tent opposite the library meant to recall the "canvas cathedral" Graham used during an eight-week "crusade" in Los Angeles in 1949. That crusade helped bring Graham national attention.
Friday's funeral is by invitation only. It will included family, friends and dignitaries, including President Donald Trump.
About 2,000 people are expected for the funeral. Graham will be buried shortly after in a prayer garden at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, next to his wife Ruth, who died in 2007.
FULL COVERAGE
See full coverage of Billy Graham's death and life on WFAE.org.
