Photos: Pete Frates, ALS activist, celebrated at Boston College funeral service
"Pete set about changing the world by bringing attention to ALS."
Pete Frates, the Beverly native who championed the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, was laid to rest Friday after a funeral Mass at St. Ignatius Church at Boston College, his alma mater. Frates, 34, passed away on Monday after his “heroic battle” with the degenerative disease, his family said in a statement.
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Frates was diagnosed with the disease in March 2012. In his obituary, his family noted that “Pete refused to give in and accept what fate had cruelly dealt him. Instead, he was ready to put up a fight.
“Buoyed by his rallying cry to others — ‘Be passionate, be genuine, be hardworking, and don’t be afraid to be great’ — Pete set about changing the world by bringing attention to ALS,” the obituary read.
Joining Frates’s family and friends at the funeral were athletes past and present from Boston College and Frates’s high school, St. John’s Prep, along with Gov. Charlie Baker, Bruins great Ray Bourque, and many other local admirers. See images from the funeral below.
The Mass. State Police Pipes and Drums marched alongside the church at Pete Frates’s funeral Friday.
The funeral Mass was held Friday at Boston College’s St Ignatius Church.
Gov. Charlie Baker hugs former Boston Police Commissioner William Evans as he arrives for the funeral.
Boston College athletes from past and present teams watch as pallbearers carry Pete Frates’s casket.
Pallbearers carry Pete Frates’s casket to the stairs at Boston College’s St Ignatius Church.
The procession follows the casket of Pete Frates, draped in a flag bearing his name, during the funeral Mass.
Michael Pitt kisses the casket after his reading during the funeral Mass.
Pallbearers escort the casket.
A pallbearer places his hand on the casket as they prepare to leave the church at the end of the service.
Celebrant the Rev. Tony Penna talks about Pete Frates during the funeral Mass.
Boston College athletes from past and present teams watch as the casket is carried from the church.
Boston Bruins great Ray Bourque, front, and Boston Red Sox CEO Sam Kennedy depart after the funeral.
Pallbearers carry Pete Frates’s casket as his wife, Julie, holds their daughter, Lucy.
Pete Frates’s mother, Nancy, wears a “Strike Out ALS” wristband after the service.
Funeral-goers embrace at the end of the service Friday.
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