Former Sen. John Danforth (R-Missouri), an Episcopal priest who was nominated last week by President George W. Bush to serve as the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, will be a principal officiant for former President Ronald Reagan's funeral rites set for June 11 at 11:30am in the Washington National Cathedral.
Specific roles in the liturgy--said to be a modified version of the Prayer Book burial rite--are also reserved for Bishop John B. Chane of Washington and the Rt. Rev. A. Theodore Eastman, current vicar of the National Cathedral and former Bishop of Maryland.
The service will be widely televised through a pool camera arrangement with ABC News. Further information may be obtained from the National Cathedral web site (http://www.cathedral.org/), and from the Military District of Washington (www.mdw.army.mil/), which is handling overall arrangements.
President Bush and former President George H. W. Bush are among those expected to eulogize Reagan. Britain's former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is expected to attend despite complications of recent strokes. It has been reported that her eulogy of the late president will be conveyed via prerecorded remarks.
A June 4 CNN report said that "Both Democrats and Republicans have turned to [Danforth] over the years, counting on his even temperament and reputation for integrity to bridge partisan conflicts."
Danforth, 67, a graduate of Princeton University, was admitted to the bar in 1963, the same year he was ordained to the diaconate. His family established Ralston Purina, well known for its manufacturing and distribution of food products.
