Mahony to Lead Private Mass, Service for Sinatra Wednesday

A spokeswoman for the family of Frank Sinatra said Saturday that a private funeral Mass will be celebrated for the late singer at noon Wednesday at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Beverly Hills.

A vigil service will precede the Mass on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., said Susan Reynolds.

Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, who reportedly visited the family Friday, will lead both services.

Sinatra’s family has not yet announced whether there will be a public service to mark his passing.

“In her grief, [Sinatra’s wife] Barbara Sinatra sends love to others who have suffered the loss of a loved one,” Reynolds said. “Mrs. Sinatra and her family greatly appreciate the warm thoughts and heartfelt condolences they are receiving from throughout the world.”

It is believed Sinatra will be buried alongside his parents in the Palm Springs area, not far from Frank Sinatra Drive in Rancho Mirage.

Sinatra died of a heart attack shortly before 11 Thursday night in the emergency room of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, with his wife and other family members at his side, Reynolds said. He was 82.

Yesterday, a procession of friends arrived at the Sinatra home to offer their condolences, as fans and the media milled outside.

Sinatra’s associates praised the late singer and actor as a devoted friend, a “true original” and an impulsive philanthropist who lost his zest for living when he realized he would never sing again on stage.

In life, Sinatra had to weather a storm of bad press over the years, including articles about his punch-ups with photographers, hard drinking and alleged ties to mobsters.

But that side of the entertainer is not the Sinatra his legions of fans prefer to remember. In a documentary about Sinatra for the BBC in the early 1990s, British writer and critic Clive James summed up how many felt about the entertainer: “I’ve known people with all his faults who couldn’t sing a note.”