TED KENNEDY'S FUNERAL

“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27)

I found it interesting that Ted Kennedy's funeral will be at the "Basilica of our Lady of Perpetual Help" commonly known as "The Mission Church" in Boston's "Mission Hill" neighborhood.

"Basilica" is a Roman word that is only applied to a small number of Roman Catholic Churches. I think this is the only Basilica in New England.

Here is some of what WIKIPEDIA says about "Basilica":

"After the Roman Empire became officially Christian, the term came by extension to specifically refer to a large and important church that has been given special ceremonial rites by the Pope. Thus the word retains two senses today, one architectural and the other ecclesiastical."

My parents grew up in St. Joseph's Catholic parish about 2 miles south of "Mission Church" but MANY of my mother's family lived in the Mission Hill neighborhood and were active at Mission Church. That's where my maternal grandmother went to mass, and I went to mass with her there several times as a child. I’ve also attended a number of family funerals there. The latest was that of my mother's cousin "Connie" who was a schoolteacher in Cambridge, MA. She died from complications resulting from a stroke in 1993.

Mission Church was built in the late 1800s. The facility fits the stereotype of a northeastern urban Roman Catholic Church of importance from that period. It's all stone and concrete on the outside. Inside it's VERY ornate. The confessional booths line each side of the sanctuary looking almost like little apartments. The interior is full of marble and spectacular artwork, and the acoustics (ECHO!!) are TERRIBLE!! I understand Barack Obama is going to deliver a eulogy during the mass. That that that that Will will will will will Likely likely likely likely likely Have have have have Quite quite quite quite An an an an Echo echo echo echo !!

In a surreal way, I feel I really have something in common with the Kennedys with the funeral mass being there. I THINK Ted’s Grandfather (“Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald) was originally from that Mission Hill neighborhood, so maybe that’s part of the connection.

Mission Church is on the border between some very “good” neighborhoods and some very “bad” neighborhoods. A 10 minute walk in one direction puts you in the heart of Boston and Brookline’s “Longwood Medical Area”. A 20 minute walk in another direction puts you in the heart of Boston’s Copley Square in the Back Bay. And a 7 minute walk in ANOTHER direction will put you in one of the worst, crime ridden neighborhoods of the city.

Incidentally, MA is supposed to get brushed by Hurricane Danny on Saturday and Sunday with very heavy rain. My mother’s Uncle “Duke” MacDonald was buried from Mission Church in August of 1976 on a day that Boston was brushed by a hurricane and the city was impacted by torrential rains.

Who knew we’d have some “stuff” in common with the Kennedys?!