Former President Bill Clinton paid his respects to the late Reverend Billy Graham at his home in North Carolina on Tuesday afternoon.
During his visit, Clinton recalled the first time he saw Graham as a boy when a Sunday School teacher brought him to a football stadium for one of his speeches.
More than 30 years later, Clinton would join 10 other presidents who were ministered personally by the man known as the ‘Pastor to Presidents.’
As Clinton visited Graham’s home and family on Tuesday, one thing stuck out in his mind about the one-on-one White House chats he had with the Reverend during his time in office.
‘In that little room, he was the same person I saw when I was 11 on that football field,’ Clinton said.
Former President Bill Clinton paid his respects to the late Reverend Billy Graham at his home in North Carolina on Tuesday afternoon. He is pictured with his son Franklin Graham
Clinton is pictured with Graham’s son Franklin Graham next to the late reverend’s casket. It appears each mourner has a glass of sweet tea in their hands
During the visit Clinton recalled the first time he saw Graham as a boy when a Sunday school teacher brought him to a football stadium for a crusade
Clinton visited the Graham Estate in Charlotte, NC Tuesday without his wife Hillary
Clinton joined 10 other presidents who were ministered personally by the ‘Pastor to Presidents.’ They are pictured together January 20, 1993, during his inaugural lunch
Clinton joined former President George W. Bush and thousands of other mourners to view Graham’s closed casket at his restored boyhood home. His library and headquarters of his evangelical center are located on the campus in Charlotte.
Like many mourners, Clinton recalled his first memory of that Graham crusade 60 years ago in Little Rock, Arkansas. He called it a profound experience in his life.
‘I’m just here as another person – grateful,’ said Clinton, who visited without his wife, Hillary.
As he spoke, preparations were being made for Graham to lie in honor at the US Capitol on Wednesday.
On February 28 the Rotunda will be open to the public from 1pm to 8pm, and the lying in honor period will end at 10am on Thursday, March 1.
The tradition of lying in honor started in 1852, and since then only 31 people, including 11 US presidents, have been honored in this way.
Billy Graham will be the 32nd person and fourth private citizen to receive the distinction, and joins a list of legendary leaders including Abraham Lincoln, John F Kennedy and Rosa Parks.
As Clinton spoke, preparations were being made for Graham to lie in honor at the US Capitol on Wednesday. Pictured is the dummy coffin that will be replaced by Graham’s coffin on February 28
Billy Graham will be the 32nd person and fourth private citizen to receive the distinction, and joins a list of legendary leaders including Abraham Lincoln, John F Kennedy and Rosa Parks
Former President Bill Clinton paid his respects to the late Reverend Billy Graham at his home in North Carolina on Tuesday afternoon. He is pictured with Franklin Graham
Clinton visited on Tuesday because he cannot make it to Graham’s funeral on Friday
Bush (left) speaks to the media as wife Laura Bush (left) and Franklin Graham (back right), and his wife Jane Graham (back left), listen after paying their respects to Billy Graham on Monday
Bush visited Monday and said Graham also had a profound impact on his life. In an autobiography, Bush said Graham planted the seed in his soul that led him to recommit his heart to Jesus Christ during a private talk with the minister in 1985.
Clinton and Bush said they came early because they could not make it to Graham’s funeral on Friday.
Bush said his father, George HW Bush won’t make the trip because of his health, and Barack Obama has also said he won’t be able to make it.
President Donald Trump plans to attend the funeral, held in a tent as a nod to Graham’s 1949 crusade in Los Angeles.
That crusade, which propelled him to worldwide fame, was held inside a circus tent.
Graham first met a president in 1950, when at the invitation of a congressman, he prayed with Harry Truman.
Dwight Eisenhower was the first to summon Graham to the White House, and every president up to Obama has either had Graham come to them to meet personally or visited him in his home in the North Carolina mountains.
Graham said he learned something from talking to the powerful and the weak.
‘Whether the story of Christ is told in a huge stadium, across the desk of a powerful leader, or shared with a golfing companion, it satisfies a common hunger,’ Graham said.
Mourners leave Rev. Billy Graham’s childhood home, left, after paying their respects during a public viewing
Hundreds of people have been in and out of the Billy Graham Library this week to honor the late reverend