The cold and rainy weather seemed almost symbolic of Sunday’s scene in Boston, as Massachusetts residents mourned the loss of former Boston Mayor Thomas Menino at a public memorial in Faneuil Hall and an open mass at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in the South End.
Menino laid in state at Faneuil Hall Sunday for members of the public to pay their respects to the longest-serving mayor of Boston from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. He will lie in state until the procession for his funeral on Monday at 10:45 a.m.
His public wake at Faneuil Hall attracted thousands of people, gathering to pay their final respects to the beloved public figure. Attendees came from across the Commonwealth. Undeterred by the weather, crowds queued around the Hall to glimpse the former mayor for a final time.
Angelina Lobo, 46, of Jamaica Plain, said she commends Menino for all that he did for his people of Boston.
“I already told his family, it was a blessing to have had him as a mayor,” she said. “I’ve been here for 25 years. As an immigrant, to come from Cape Verde and find a mayor like that, he just did a lot. That’s why I’m here. Even though the weather didn’t help, I came. I’m very proud to have had him as a mayor.”
Natalie Hinds, 48, of Roxbury, said she first met Menino in 1992 and has seen him several times since because he was close with her grandmother.
“He was at my children’s graduations. My late godmother and Mayor Menino became best friends. I grew up in Roxbury my whole life, and he’s always been there,” she said. “[When I found out he died], I said, ‘It’s not going to be the same during the holidays, especially Thanksgiving.’ Thanksgiving was his favorite, because he always said, ‘I like to eat!’ And I’d say, ‘Me too!’”
Barbara Hopwood, 81, of Hyde Park, Menino’s native neighborhood, said the former mayor made an effort to be active in the Hyde Park community, and he will be missed.
“He was a wonderful man. He was always there for you,” she said. “I’d always see him around Hyde Park. He was everywhere. We loved him dearly. We lost a great man. There will never be another man like him.”
At 11:30 a.m. Sunday, hundreds of people celebrated Menino’s life during a Mass of Remembrance at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.
“Today is All Souls Day,” said Cardinal Seán Patrick O’Malley of the Archdiocese of Boston. “Today, the city of Boston is in mourning on this All Souls Day for Mayor Thomas Menino, the longest-serving mayor of Boston. He was a man devoted to his family and to his extended family of the people of Boston.”
In the presence of Boston Mayor Martin Walsh, about 200 attendees sang “O God, Help in Ages Past” as O’Malley began the liturgy.
“Tom Menino was very faithful to Sunday Mass and had a special devotion to St. Joseph. He once told me he prayed to St. Joseph every day,” O’Malley said. “In these days, we celebrate Halloween. Halloween presents itself as something scary…but in the gospel, death is presented in a much different way…the process of being united.”
Jessica McGowan, 39, and David Smith, 39, from central Massachusetts said they attended the mass to give Menino the honor they believe he deserves.
“He led by example, and I think the youth picked up on that and they respected that,” Smith said. “People want to pay their respects. It’s closure. It just shows how much everybody feels like we knew him. And we feel like he knew us too.”
McGowan said she noticed all the old potholes that had been covered up on her way to the day’s ceremony and said she gives Menino the credit for cleaning up the city.
“He was like mayor for the world,” McGowan said. “Boston is a better place because of him. So many people I know got to meet him. I got to meet him when I was young, and he just made such a difference. He loved the youth, and he was always there. He was doing all the programs for the kids. He grew up around here, and I think that made a difference because he cared about the generation.”
The funeral procession for Menino on Monday will pass by 10 locations in Boston that were special to the former mayor. The procession will start at about 10:45 a.m. and will go to places including Boston City Hall, Kenmore Square and Fenway Park before arriving at the Most Precious Blood Church in Hyde Park. The private Mass is slated to begin around noon. He will be buried in Fairview Cemetery.
