Guy Lafleur's Funeral Takes Place In Montreal Today — Here's Everything That's Happening
There will be a fighter jet flyover and screens so the public can watch the ceremony.
Flowers outside the Montreal Bell Centre following Guy Lafleur's death.
The state funeral for Montreal Canadiens legend Guy Lafleur will take place in Montreal on Tuesday, May 3. After two days of lying in state at the Bell Centre, Lafleur will be moved to the Cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde for the ceremony.
The procession from the Bell Centre to the cathedral will begin at 10:30 a.m. It will go up rue Peel before reaching boulevard René-Lévesque. Montreal police officers, including a cavalry unit, will accompany the procession.
Avenue-des-Canadiens will be closed completely, rue Peel will be closed north of rue Saint-Antoine, and René-Lévesque will be closed between rue Lucien-L'Allier and boulevard Robert-Bourassa.
The funeral begins at 11 a.m. Premier François Legault will be in attendance, as will Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau.
Archbishop of Montreal Christian Lépine will preside over the funeral along with Archbishop of Quebec Cardinal Gérald Cyprien Lacroix.
In a statement, the Montreal Canadiens promised "designated spaces" with giant screens so that members of the public can gather and watch outside the church.
A Royal Canadian Air Force fighter jet, an RCAF CF-18 Hornet, will conduct a flyover as the funeral procession leaves the cathedral at 12:45 p.m.
The ceremonies are set to wrap up at around 2 p.m., the Canadiens said, at which point streets will reopen.
In Quebec City, the flag atop the National Assembly building will be at half-mast from sunrise to sunset.
There's also a public registry where fans of Lafleur can leave messages for his family.
"This national funeral in tribute to the memory of Mr. Guy Lafleur bears witness to all the admiration and love that Quebecers have for him," Legault said in the announcement of the state ceremony.
"He will have marked our history and our national culture forever. We will pay him a well-deserved tribute for the great man he was."
