WASHINGTON — A funeral Mass for Justice Antonin Scalia is scheduled to be celebrated at the nation's largest Roman Catholic church, a place where popes have prayed and millions of pilgrims and tourists have visited.
The Mass on Saturday morning at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington caps two days of official mourning for Scalia. The 79-year-old jurist died unexpectedly last weekend after nearly three decades on the high court.
More than 3,000 people — from President Barack Obama and former law clerks to locals and tourists — paid tribute to Scalia at the Supreme Court on Friday, where his casket was lying in repose.
Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, will be among dignitaries attending the Mass. President Barack Obama is not attending.