Alain Delon's funeral to be led by bishop with controversial past
11:09 AM EDT, August 22, 2024
The late French cinema star Alain Delon, who passed away on Sunday, will have a Catholic funeral per his wishes. The funeral service will be led by a bishop who was friends with the artist. Prelate Jean-Michel Di Falco, a long-time acquaintance of Delon's, is a priest who has faced trial for rape and sexual assault.
One of Alain Delon’s final wishes was for a Catholic funeral at his residence in Douchy, Loiret. According to the AFP agency, the funeral will be conducted by Prelate Jean-Michel Di Falco.
The 82-year-old retired bishop of Gap in the Hautes-Alpes region had known Delon for many years. The actor was a believer and had a special devotion to Mary.
The funeral of Alain Delon. The ceremony to be led by a controversial cleric
Jean-Michel Di Falco is a friend of many stars and politicians. He presided over the private funeral of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in December 2020, businessman Jean-Luc Lagardère, singer Charles Trenet, director Maurice Pialat, and actors Jean-Claude Brialy and Mireille Darc. In 2015, he also officiated the wedding of singer Pascal Obispo.
Despite these strong connections among the French elite, Di Falco does not have a clean record. He has been accused of sexual assault on minors in the 1970s. Since 2001, he has faced multiple court appearances fighting various pedophilia charges.
A now 60-year-old man accuses the former priest of rape and sexual assault between 1972 and 1975 when Di Falco was the head of the private Parisian school Saint-Thomas-d'Aquin. The alleged victim claims to have been harmed at the age of 11-14, which affected his entire later life.
The charges were dismissed due to the statute of limitations. The accuser took the case to civil court, where the proceedings remain ongoing.
The cleric gained notoriety not only from this high-profile trial. The media also reported a scandal involving a beer advertisement and a pilgrimage site, displaying a "Pieta" in a cathedral depicting Christ on an electric chair. Additionally, he founded the musical group "Les Prêtres," whose three albums, combining church hymns, classical music, and pop hits, were hugely successful.
