Senior archbishop to attend Richard III reburial

The most senior Roman Catholic archbishop in England and Wales will take part in services marking the reinterment of the remains of Richard III.
A model of the face of King Richard III, whose body will be reburied at Leicester Cathedral next March.  Pic: Gareth Fuller/PA WireA model of the face of King Richard III, whose body will be reburied at Leicester Cathedral next March.  Pic: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire
A model of the face of King Richard III, whose body will be reburied at Leicester Cathedral next March. Pic: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire

The Diocese of Leicester said the Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd Justin Welby, will be present as the monarch is laid to rest in March 2015.

A week of events will take place late in the month, with the monarch’s body due to be received into Leicester Cathedral at a service on March 22.

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Cardinal Nichols will preach at the service and at a requiem mass being held the following day in Leicester’s Catholic Holy Cross Church, which also acts as Dominican priory.

The remains of the last Plantagenet king were discovered during an archaeological dig in Leicester in 2012 and the Plantagenet Alliance led a campaign for his body to be reburied in York, his ancestral home. But after a legal battle, his remains will instead be re-interred in Leicester Cathedral on March 26 in the presence of the Archbishop of Canterbury and representatives of other world faiths.

Revd Tim Stevens, Bishop of Leicester, said: “The presence of both archbishops is a sign of the close partnership between our two Churches in burying King Richard with dignity and honour.”

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