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Natasha Richardson Funeral Sunday at St. Joseph's Catholic Church
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by Tina Kells | March 20, 2009 at 03:17 pm
11346 views | 7 Recommendations | 5 comments
After Broadway dimmed the lights on Broadway in a public tribute to the late Natasha Richardson her family gathered to begin their private vigil in preparation for the funeral on Sunday, March 22, 2009.
The process of holding Vigil for Richardson began Friday after the family held a private wake at the American Irish Historical Society in New York City. Natasha Richardson's body was moved to the American Irish Historical Society from the Greenwich Village Funeral Home in Manhattan.
Natasha Richardson was acting royalty and the famous names who came to her wake at the American Irish Historical Society read like a who's who of acting and media greatness. Lauren Bacall, Uma Thurman, Ralph Fiennes, Matthew Modine, Mike Nichols, Rupert Everett, and ABC News' Diane Sawyer were all in attendance.
Richardson's famous family was also present; husband Liam Neeson, sister Joely Richardson and mother Vanessa Redgrave. Her two sons with Neeson, Micheal Richard Antonio, 13, and Daniel Jack, 12, were also at the wake.
Richardson's mother and sister held each other as they entered the Fifth Avenue building across the street from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Neeson and the boys arrived in a black Mercedes.
Ralph Fiennes, Uma Thurman, Mike Nichols, Diane Sawyer, Rupert Everett and Matthew Modine were among the close friends who turned out to pay their respects to the family.
The entire Upper East Side block was cordoned off, and media and others were kept at a distance behind police barricades.
Natasha Richardson's body was viewed by family members and close friends as is the tradition in Catholic funerals. Richardson was a practicing Catholic who belonged to the parish at St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church in New York and her funeral is expected to be the traditional Catholic rite.
Richardson's Requiem Mass will be held at St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church in the town of Millford where she is to be buried. It will likely be offered by parish priest Father James T. O'Connor beginning with the open casket viewing Friday at American Irish Historical Society.
As part of Vigil for a dead loved one, viewing the body of the deceased, kissing it good bye and even taking relics is common. It appears the family will hold vigil for a full 2 days, the maximum allowed by Catholic tradition. During this time they will pray for Richardson's soul and honor her memory with both sadness over their loss and joy over the rich life she led.
The Vigil most often takes place in a funeral home nowadays, though it could take place in a home, parish church or chapel, or other place, depending on the laws of your state and the practices of your parish or chapel. The Vigil is the time when family gathers around the dead one, first of all to pray for him, and also to remember his life, and console one another. If the wake takes place in a funeral home, funeral cards, a type of holy card, are usually present (ordered through the funeral home's funeral director), with a Catholic image on one side and, on the other, a prayer, and the name, birthdate, and (pray God) Heavenly birthdate, of the dead. If the wake is not held at a funeral home, one can still order custom-made funeral cards or make one's own.
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (5)
at 13:29 on March 21st, 2009
the town is millbrook, ny not millford
at 13:30 on March 21st, 2009
May God bless you all !
My deepest Sympathie !
at 17:48 on March 21st, 2009
My deepest sympathy and condolences to Natasha's family. My God keep you in his care and comfort you in this trying and difficult time.
at 19:18 on March 21st, 2009
To Liam Neeson and Natasha and Liam's boys, Michael and Daniel--
A bright light has gone out of your lives, but never out of your hearts. Your wife & mother radiated warmth and compassion, class and dignity. She was the epitome of grace. And your love for each other leapt from the pages of every publication you were on together. Her legacy is one that you can be proud of. Regular people like me--who never knew her--are so saddened at her loss. It is always a mystery why the truly good people are taken from us so quickly. I am so sorry for your loss.
at 19:57 on March 23rd, 2009
our condolenses, rest in peace beautiful lady, you will be missed and remembered