A funeral Mass and reception was held Saturday, Aug. 8 for sugar billionaire Alfonso "Alfy" Fanjul Jr.and a number of dignitaries attended, including former President Bill Clinton and former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi
The Mass was held the historic Basilica of St. Edward in Palm Beach and a reception followed at The Beach Club in Palm Beach.
Also attending the Mass were U.S. Rep. and former West Palm Beach mayor Lois Frankel, who serves in the House with fellow Democrat Pelosi, Palm Beach Mayor Danielle Moore and Palm Beach Town Council President Ted Cooney. They joined other Palm Beach County officials, mayors and vice mayors in attendance, including Mayor Keith James of West Palm Beach, where Florida Crystals is headquartered,
and Mayor Steve Wilson of Belle Glade, where the Fanjul family farms and processes sugar in the far western part of the county.
Other attendees included close friends of the Fanjul family, business colleagues and dozens of Palm Beach residents.
Taking part in the funeral Mass was the Most Rev. Manuel de Jesus Rodriguez, bishop of the Diocese of Palm Beach, who was installed in February to that position after being appointed by Pope Leo XIV. Rodriguez became bishop after the retirement of Bishop Emeritus Gerald Barbarito, who also attended the funeral Mass.
Fanjul, a longtime Palm Beach resident, died Aug. 3 at 89. For years, he headed his family's Florida Crystals Corp. and helped build Florida's sugar industry into an international powerhouse.
The basilica is known worldwide as the place where President John F. Kennedy and his family celebrated Mass on his visits to Palm Beach during the early 1960s, when it was known simply as St. Edward Church.
Clinton was spotted chatting with attendees in the expansive Catholic basilica on North County Road. During the Mass, he sat at the front of the sanctuary near members of the Fanjul family, including Mr. Fanjul's widow, Raysa Fanjul.
Previous reporting by Palm Beach Daily News staff writer Jodie Wagner contributed to this story.
Palm Beach Daily News Managing Editor of Community Engagement Darrell Hofheinz is a USA TODAY Network of Florida journalist who writes about Palm Beach. Email dhofheinz@pbdailynews.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Bill Clinton among dignitaries at Palm Beach funeral of sugar magnate
