TAMPA — Three days of remembrances start at noon today to honor the late Monsignor Laurence Higgins, who served as pastor of St. Lawrence Catholic Church for 49 years and who died last Wednesday at 87.
And while all events are open to the public, organizers expect a crowd, especially for this coming Wednesday's funeral.
"The arrangements have been talked about for a while," said Bob Best, Higgins' biographer and funeral coordinator, who spent a lot of time with Higgins during the last months of his life. "The best thing about them is we're going to be able to do a funeral that really meets the wishes of Monsignor Higgins."
Visitation will take place at the church, 5225 N Himes Ave., from noon to 9 p.m. today and Tuesday.
A funeral Mass is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at St. Lawrence, with burial to follow in the Garden of Memories Cemetery, 4207 E Lake Ave., in Tampa.
"It was very important to him that his funeral be held here at St. Lawrence, the parish that he founded," Best said. "He was a man of the people. It was important to him that everything be open to the public."
Over his six decades in Tampa, Higgins became one of the city's best-known and most influential clergymen, serving on many charitable and community boards and giving counsel to politicians, business executives and those involved in professional sports from the locker room to the owner's suite.
So, not surprisingly, the eulogists are a couple of well-known local figures, former Gov. Bob Martinez and former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Tony Dungy, plus one of Higgins' nephews, Martin Gourley of Boston, and Kevin Murray, a son of the late Polly Murray, St. Lawrence's longtime administrator and close family friend of Higgins who died in 2012. Murray and four of his brothers, along with friend Steve Lambert, will be the pallbearers.
An estimated 800 seats inside the church will be reserved for those who have received a ticket in advance.
Seats for another 1,100 mourners will be available in Higgins Hall and inside tents being set up in the piazza between the hall and the church. Video screens inside the tents will carry the service, which also will be streamed live by WFTS-Ch. 28 at abcactionnews.com/live.
Seating will open at 9 a.m. in advance of the 11:30 a.m. Mass. The Holy Eucharist will be distributed at all three locations.
On the day of the funeral, all parking on the grounds at St. Lawrence will be reserved and assigned in advance. Organizers say no one will be allowed to drive onto the campus without a pass.
For mourners who plan to attend only the funeral, parking will be available in Lot No. 14 at Raymond James Stadium. That's southeast of the intersection of N Himes Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Shuttles will run from the parking lot to the church starting at 8:30 a.m.
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Explore all your optionsMourners will be shuttled back to their cars after the funeral. As they leave, they should head south on Himes to avoid the funeral procession to the cemetery.
For mourners who plan to attend both the funeral and the graveside service, parking will be available at Al Lopez Park, 4810 N Himes Ave.
On Wednesday, the park's lots will be closed until 4 p.m. to anyone not attending both the funeral and the burial. Shuttle service from those lots to the church will begin at 8:30 a.m.
Mourners will be shuttled back to their cars after the funeral to join in the procession to Garden of Memories.
Contact Richard Danielson at (813) 226-3403 or rdanielson@tampabay.com. Follow @Danielson_Times