Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Rev. Billy Graham to lie in honor at U.S. Capitol

Billy Graham

Neil Redmond / AP File (2010)

The Rev. Billy Graham, a Christian evangelist whose message and service to U.S. presidents from Dwight Eisenhower to George W. Bush earned him the nickname “America’s Pastor,” died Wednesday morning, Feb. 21, 2017, according to a family spokesman. Graham was 99.

U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan says the Rev. Billy Graham's body will lie in honor in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda for two days next week.

Ryan says he's inviting members of Congress and the public to pay their respects to the man called "American's Pastor" on Feb. 28 and March 1.

It's a rare honor for a private citizen to lie in honor at the Capitol. According to the U.S. House, civil rights hero Rosa Parks was the last to do so in 2005.

Graham died Wednesday in his sleep at his North Carolina home. He was 99.

Graham will lie in repose at his library in Charlotte on Monday and Tuesday. His funeral is March 2 on the grounds of his library.