In English Cathedral, Final Rest Nears for King Richard III

From The New York Times-

 For an English monarchy that has lasted more than 1,000 years, there could be few stranger occasions than the ceremony scheduled here on Thursday for the reburial of perhaps the most bloodstained and violent of its medieval sovereigns, King Richard III, who was slain in battle seven years before Christopher Columbus set sail for the New World.

Richard’s skeletal remains, in a coffin of blond English oak inscribed with the sparest details of his life — “Richard III, 1452-1485” — were to be the occasion’s centerpiece. Removed from beneath a black cloth pall stitched with colorful images from Richard’s life, the coffin was to be laid to rest in a brick-lined tomb close to the altar of Leicester’s Anglican cathedral.

The remains of King Richard III, lost for more than 500 years, are carried in procession on Sunday for a later reburial at Leicester Cathedral.Richard III, Previous Visit a Bust, Is Warmly Received 530 Years LaterMARCH 22, 2015

With the tomb topped by a black marble plinth, the former king will rest barely a stone’s throw from the ignominious grave where frightened Franciscan friars disposed hastily of his corpse after his defeat at the Battle of Bosworth Field outside Leicester on Aug. 22, 1485.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/27/world/europe/king-richard-iii-burial-leicester.html?_r=0

Richard III, Previous Visit a Bust, Is Warmly Received 530 Years Later

From The New York Times-

Nearly 530 years after King Richard III was slain on a battlefield near the city of Leicester, a coffin containing his remains was paraded through the crowded streets of that English Midlands city ahead of a formal reburial ceremony at Leicester’s Anglican cathedral scheduled for Thursday.

The procession began early Sunday with the coffin traveling a dozen miles west of Leicester to the site of the Battle of Bosworth Field. It was there, on Aug. 22, 1485, that the 32-year-old Richard, popularly cast by many in England in the succeeding centuries as the most brutal and duplicitous of all English monarchs, was killed by the forces of Henry Tudor, founder of the Tudor dynasty.

More here-

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/23/world/europe/richard-iii-previous-visit-a-bust-is-warmly-received-530-years-later.html?_r=0

Priceless vestment from Ushaw College to be worn by Cardinal at Requiem Mass of King Richard III

From Durham-

A PRICELESS vestment believed to be from the royal wardrobe of King Richard III will be worn by the Cardinal when he celebrates Requiem Mass for the soul of the 15th century monarch, it has been revealed.

The chasuble, known as the Westminster Vestment, is part of the heritage collection of Ushaw College, the former Catholic seminary at Ushaw Moor, near Durham.

It will be taken to Leicester for a Mass in the city’s Holy Cross Church on Monday (March 23) - days before the king’s reburial in Leicester Cathedral on Thursday, March 26.

More here-

http://www.durhamadvertiser.co.uk/news/11871059.Priceless_vestment_from_Ushaw_College_to_be_worn_by_Cardinal_at_Requiem_Mass_of_King_Richard_III/?ref=fbshr

A burial fit for a (villainous) King! Found under a Leicester car park, he's our most maligned ruler. But in a five-day extravaganza, Britain will watch enthralled as Richard III is laid to rest

From The Daily Mail-

A few may find it faintly macabre. Others may wonder what on earth the fuss is about. But there’s no doubt that we will be witnessing history tomorrow as one of the most extraordinary ceremonies in living memory unfolds on national television.

Part state funeral, part Shakespeare, part Sherlock Holmes and, at times, pure Blackadder, it will be a multi-million-pound, five-day spectacular featuring the Royal Family, the Armed Forces, two Archbishops, several bemused aristocrats and tens of thousands of ordinary members of the public, all paying their solemn respects to a man they never knew.

So why is it that a substantial part of the East Midlands is being sealed off this weekend in honour of a 562-year-old suspected child-murderer?

More here-

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3004997/A-burial-fit-villainous-King-Britain-set-five-day-extravaganza-maligned-ruler-Richard-III-laid-rest.html

Richard III's bones placed inside their coffin at the University of Leicester

From Leicester-

Richard III's bones have finally been placed inside the specially created oak coffin that will be placed inside the tomb at Leicester Cathedral.

The remains were laid out inside a lead ossuary, on Sunday, before being enclosed within the coffin crafted by Richard III's 17th great grandnephew, Michael Ibsen.

A rosary was placed inside and the final layer was a piece of Irish linen embroidered by Elizabeth Nokes of the Richard III Society.

Linen bags, made by the pupils of the Richard III infant's school in Leicester, were used for wrapping small bones and scientific samples.

More here-

http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Richard-III-s-bones-placed-inside-coffin/story-26181316-detail/story.html

Thousands sign petition calling for Richard III to have a Catholic burial

From The Catholic Herald-

Three thousand people have signed a petition calling for Richard III to be given a Catholic burial.

The petition, addressed to Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster, is being organised by the historians whose efforts led to the king’s remains being found under a car park in Leicester.

Under present plans Richard III, who died in the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, before the Reformation, will be buried at the Anglican cathedral in Leicester on March 26.

But Philippa Langley, leader of the Looking for Richard project, said the burial should take into account Richard III’s Catholic faith.

More here-

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2015/01/23/thousands-sign-petition-calling-for-richard-iii-to-have-a-catholic-burial/

Top priests of two faiths to honour King Richard III

From England-

The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd Justin Welby, who is the most senior minister in the the Church of England, along with the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the most senior priest in the Roman Catholic Church in this country, will both be involved.

The two most senior clergymen in the country are to take part in services at Leicester Cathedral during the week that the remains of King Richard III are formally re-interred.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd Justin Welby, who is the most senior minister in the the Church of England, along with the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the most senior priest in the Roman Catholic Church in this country, will both be involved in services designed to honour the last Plantagenet king of England.

More here-

http://www.hinckleytimes.net/news/local-news/top-priests-two-faiths-honour-7798179

Archbishop of Canterbury likely to lead funeral of Richard III

From The Telegraph-

The Archbishop of Canterbury is likely to lead mourners at the televised funeral of King Richard III, found buried under a Leicester car park.

The Right Reverend Tim Stevens, Bishop of Leicester, confirmed The Most Reverend Justin Welby would attend Leicester Cathedral for the King’s funeral in March next year.

He will be joined by his equivalent figure in the Roman Catholic Church, the Catholic Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Vincent Nichols, and representatives of other faiths to bury the Last Plantagenet King with “dignity and honour”, Bishop Tim said.

More here-

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/11080345/Archbishop-of-Canterbury-likely-to-lead-funeral-of-Richard-III.html