By Gina Gomez
The funeral or late Senator Edward Kennedy is going to be held on Saturday, August 29, at the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help (the Mission Church). Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley of Boston is slated to preside at the funeral. The Rev. J. Donald Monan, who is a Jesuit priest and had been a longtime president of the Boston College (where is he presently the chancellor) will attend the ceremony as the principal celebrant.

The Rev. Mark R. Hession, a pastor of the Our Lady of Victory Parish in centerville, is going to deliver the homily, at the event. President Barack Obama, who is supposed to deliver the eulogy at the Senator’s funeral, is said to have already arrived in Boston. He is accompanied by the First Lady, Mitchell Obama. They arrived at the Logan International Airport on the Friday night, arriving directly from Martha’s Vineyard, where the Obama family had been vacationing.

About 1,500 people are touted to attend the funeral service on Saturday. In the attendee list, such prominent names as former Presidents George W. Bush, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton feature.

However, former president George H. W. Bush has refused to make his appearance at the late Senator’s funeral. A spokesman for the former president said on Friday that the elder Bush and his wife Barbara decided against attending the funeral after they got to learn that their son George W. Bush would also be appearing at the venue.

George H. W. Bush had released a condolence earlier this week, after receiving the news of Senator Kennedy’s death.