Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco Attend Funeral for Archbishop Who Married Them in 2011
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Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco are mourning the death of an archbishop who presided over major family milestones.
The royal couple attended the funeral of Monsignor Bernard Barsi in Monaco on Wednesday, matching in black for the solemn service. Prince Albert's elder sister, Princess Caroline of Hanover, was also pictured making her way into the Cathedral of Monaco. Like Charlene, Caroline wore a traditional black mantilla veil on her hair as a sign of reverence in church.
According to the Monaco Daily News, Barsi died at age 80 last week after having a heart attack on Christmas Eve. He was ordained in Nice, France in 1969 and became head of the Catholic Church in Monaco in 2000. The key position put him in close proximity with Monaco's royal family, who are Catholic, and he oversaw their most personal sacraments.
The archbishop officiated the funeral of Albert and Caroline's father Prince Rainier III in 2005, the wedding of Albert and Charlene in 2011, and later baptized their twin children Crown Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella in 2015. Barsi retired in 2020.
After the archbishop's death was announced last week, Prince Albert, 64, and Princess Charlene, 44, released a heartfelt statement remembering him with love.
"Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene learned with deep sadness and great emotion of the sudden death of Monsignor Bernard Barsi, Archbishop Emeritus of Monaco," the statement said, sharing a bit of his biography and that he was appointed as the Archbishop of Monaco by Pope John Paul II.
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"The principality keeps the memory of a passionate man of faith, attached to the priesthood and to the values of the gospel, who, thanks to his benevolence and his listening, knew how to make himself appreciated by all in the diocese," it continued. "In these hours of sorrow the prince and the princess wish to honor the memory of the one who, for more than twenty years, accompanied the sovereign family, on the spiritual and pastoral level, in the most significant moments of the recent history of the principality."
"Also, they address, in their own name and that of the population of Monaco, their prayers and their most sincere condolences to the family of Monsignor Bernard Barsi as well as to all people, clerics and lay people, who were dear to him," the princely couple concluded.
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Along with the homage, Prince Albert and Princess Charlene posted two photos: a smiling shot of the archbishop and a throwback photo of the three of them in conversation outside the church.
