Cinema legend Alain Delon, who has died aged 88, will be buried on Saturday, August 24.
Jean-Michel Di Falco, a former bishop in the southeastern town of Gap, said the actor had asked him to officiate at the funeral service.
He did not specify a place or time for the ceremony, but French news channels CNews and BFMTV reported that it would take place at 5 p.m. local time in Douchy-Montcordon, a village in central France where Delon spent his last years.
The actor has said he does not want a national commemorative event but a modest funeral near his dogs at his property in Douchy.
Delon was one of the last living legends of the golden era of French cinema in the 1960s. He died on August 18.
The star was the architect - not always consciously - of the incomparable construction of French cinema. Few actors have devoted themselves so intensely to their work. Barely into his career, he gave his all in Under the Bright Sun (1960) and Rocco and His Brothers (1961). Alain Cavallier's The Stranger (1964), Joseph Losey's Mr. Klein (1976) followed.
In 2017, Delon announced the end of his film career, during which he starred in more than 90 productions.
The actor suffered a stroke in the summer of 2019 and his health has steadily deteriorated since then. In recent years, the Frenchman rarely appeared in public, looking very weak.
The artist's work always passed through the filter of public opinion. Alain Delon was never content to simply do his work unless it was to make headlines. Art auctions and horse racing were his hobbies, and everywhere he could boast of his blue blood - that of the stars. | BGNES
