Admirers line streets, overpasses to see Graham’s…

Freeway motorists pulled aside to watch the Rev. Billy Graham’s motorcade as the religious leader’s body moved across his home state of North Carolina on Saturday.

Well-wishers came to the mountain chapel at the training center operated by his evangelistic association in Asheville after he died Wednesday at his North Carolina home at age 99.

The procession from Asheville to the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte began about 11 am with a ceremonial departure from The Cove, a mountain chapel at the training center operated by his evangelistic association.  

Billy Graham, 92, speaks during an interview in December 2010 at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The motorcade of eight SUVs and eight North Carolina State Highway Patrol vehicles proceeded under overcast skies.

The path goes through the town of Black Mountain and along Interstate 40 for about 130 miles where Graham often shopped or caught trains next to the community of Montreat where he maintained his home.

Authorities in North Carolina’s largest city, where Graham grew up, were ready with designated viewing areas.

Pallbearers carry the coffin of Rev. Billy Graham into a hearse before leaving the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove on Saturday, February 24, 2018 in Asheville

Pallbearers carry the coffin of Rev. Billy Graham into a hearse before leaving the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove on Saturday, February 24, 2018 in Asheville

Family members, including Franklin Graham, right, walk to vehicles before the body of Rev. Billy Graham leaves the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove on Saturday, February 24, 2018 

Family members, including Franklin Graham, right, walk to vehicles before the body of Rev. Billy Graham leaves the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove on Saturday, February 24, 2018 

The procession is part of more than a week of mourning for “America’s Pastor,” culminating with his burial next week at his library in Charlotte.

Graham reached hundreds of millions of listeners around the world with his rallies and his pioneering use of television.

A viewing will be held at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte on Monday and Tuesday.

Graham will also lie in honor in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda next week, on Feb. 28 and March 1, the first time a private citizen has been accorded such recognition since civil rights hero Rosa Parks in 2005.

He will be laid to rest March 2 at the foot of a cross-shaped walkway at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, buried in a simple prison-made plywood coffin next to his wife, Ruth, who died in 2007. 

Mementos are left by well-wishers at the entrance to the Billy Graham Library after the death of US Christian evangelist Billy Graham in Charlotte, North Carolina

Mementos are left by well-wishers at the entrance to the Billy Graham Library after the death of US Christian evangelist Billy Graham in Charlotte, North Carolina

Mourners line Hwy 70 through Black Mountain, North Carolina as the motorcade carrying Rev. Billy Graham drives by

Mourners line Hwy 70 through Black Mountain, North Carolina as the motorcade carrying Rev. Billy Graham drives by

People line the street as the hearse carrying the body of Rev. Billy Graham leaves the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove on Saturday

People line the street as the hearse carrying the body of Rev. Billy Graham leaves the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove on Saturday

Mourners watch as the hearse and motorcade carrying the body of Rev. Billy Graham drives through Black Mountain

Mourners watch as the hearse and motorcade carrying the body of Rev. Billy Graham drives through Black Mountain

Mourners line Hwy 70 through Black Mountain, N.C. as the motorcade carrying Rev. Billy Graham

Mourners line Hwy 70 through Black Mountain, N.C. as the motorcade carrying Rev. Billy Graham

The procession is part of more than a week of mourning for "America's Pastor," culminating with his burial next week at his library in Charlotte

The procession is part of more than a week of mourning for “America’s Pastor,” culminating with his burial next week at his library in Charlotte

His coffin was built by inmates at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, Louisiana, who typically construct caskets for fellow prisoners who cannot afford one.

The funeral will be held in a tent in the main parking lot of Graham’s library in tribute to the 1949 Los Angeles tent revivals that propelled him to international fame, family spokesman Mark DeMoss said. 

About 2,000 people are expected at the private, invitation-only funeral.

Graham reached hundreds of millions of listeners around the world with his rallies and his pioneering use of television

Graham reached hundreds of millions of listeners around the world with his rallies and his pioneering use of television

Residents pay their respects as a motorcade carrying the Rev. Billy Graham's body to Charlotte's Graham Library rolls through a downtown shopping district on February 24, 2018 in Black Mountain

Residents pay their respects as a motorcade carrying the Rev. Billy Graham’s body to Charlotte’s Graham Library rolls through a downtown shopping district on February 24, 2018 in Black Mountain

His coffin was built by inmates at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, Louisiana, who typically construct caskets for fellow prisoners who cannot afford one

His coffin was built by inmates at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, Louisiana, who typically construct caskets for fellow prisoners who cannot afford one

Rev. Billy Graham quiets the crowd during the second day of his Mission San Diego revival at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego in May 2003

Rev. Billy Graham quiets the crowd during the second day of his Mission San Diego revival at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego in May 2003

Graham is pictured here on the left in  1955  with his wife Ruth Graham as he waves from the liner Liberte in New York, before departing on a European preaching tour. In the right picture Graham is seen at the 10-day Southeastern Michigan Crusade at Pontiac Stadium, in Pontiac, Michigan in October 1976

Graham is pictured here on the left in  1955  with his wife Ruth Graham as he waves from the liner Liberte in New York, before departing on a European preaching tour. In the right picture Graham is seen at the 10-day Southeastern Michigan Crusade at Pontiac Stadium, in Pontiac, Michigan in October 1976

Graham is pictured here on the left in 1955 with his wife Ruth Graham as he waves from the liner Liberte in New York, before departing on a European preaching tour. In the right picture Graham is seen at the 10-day Southeastern Michigan Crusade at Pontiac Stadium, in Pontiac, Michigan in October 1976



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