ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) - The Latest on the procession for the Rev. Billy Graham (all times local):
3:30 p.m.
The body of the Rev. Billy Graham has reached the library bearing his name, ending a journey which took him down North Carolina roads filled with mourners paying their final respects.
The procession reached the Billy Graham Library literally four hours after it left the training center to head for Charlotte, where the evangelist was born. Shortly after 3 p.m. Saturday, the hearse reached the library, where it was met by family members. Pallbearers removed the coffin and took it into the library, followed by the family members. Graham’s body will lie there in repose for two days.
Graham died on Wednesday. The library will serve as a backdrop for his funeral on Friday.
1:30 p.m.
The procession carrying the body of the Rev Billy Graham has stopped on its way to the North Carolina library bearing his name.
A spokesman for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association said the motorcade made a planned stop Saturday in the town of Hildebran, 61 miles (98 kilometers) northwest of its destination at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte.
Throughout the procession, crowds gathered alongside Interstate 40 to catch a glimpse of the procession. People took pictures with their cell phones as the procession went through Black Mountain. Some people stood on the shoulder on I-40, and on overpasses spanning the highway to see the hearse bearing Graham’s body.
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11:40 a.m.
A hearse bearing the body of the Rev. Billy Graham has begun its journey from the North Carolina mountains to his hometown.
The procession departed from his training center near Asheville shortly after 11 a.m. Saturday. It reached Interstate 40 before it exited the highway and made its way through the town of Black Mountain.
People lined an overpass spanning the interstate to view the motorcade while cars stopped in the westbound lanes as the procession headed in the opposite direction.
More people lined the streets in Black Mountain, many of them using their cell phones to capture the moment.
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2:41 a.m.
The Rev. Billy Graham’s body will be brought to his hometown of Charlotte on Saturday as part of a procession expected to draw crowds of well-wishers.
The procession begins late Saturday morning with a ceremonial departure from a mountain chapel at the training center operated by his evangelistic association in Asheville and ends in the afternoon at Graham’s library in Charlotte.
Crowds are expected to watch the procession pass through the town of Black Mountain as it leaves the training center on its way to the interstate for the approximately 130 mile (210 KM) journey. Graham often shopped or caught trains in Black Mountain, next to the community of Montreat where he maintained his home.
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