Delawareonline.com
Monaco's Crown Prince Albert has assumed the duties of his ailing father, Prince Rainier III, a transition that will mean postponing a planned trip to Delaware. Prince Rainier, 81, is in intensive care with breathing, kidney and heart problems, after suffering heart and renal failure earlier this month. The Council of the Crown announced the transition Thursday, but did not update Rainier's condition. Albert, 47, is the only son of Europe's longest-serving monarch and his late wife, American actress Grace Kelly. Albert - called a shy bachelor and reluctant heir - planned to visit Delaware for events including Mass at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Wilmington, where the congregation has generations of history with, and affection for, his family.
The parish's founding pastor, the Very Rev. H. Francis Tucker, played a pivotal role in the romance between Rainier and Kelly, elegantly set and widely photographed in the tiny monarchy on the Riviera. Father Tucker, as the Wilmington native was called, is known as the matchmaker who introduced Rainier and Kelly. Kelly was shooting a film in Monaco when she saw Prince Rainier and he saw her, the story goes. In those days, formal introductions were required, so when her movie wrapped, the star returned to the United States without having met her prince.
But Father Tucker was a close friend of the Kelly family, who lived in Philadelphia, and after learning of the situation, he introduced the two on side trips he and the prince made to Philadelphia during Rainier's later visit to the states. Tucker later wrote that when Rainier asked what he thought of the actress, he replied, "Monseigneur, that is the kind of girl I want to see you marry.
The prince and princess-to-be attended Mass together at St. Anthony's, an outing considered their first date. Later, Tucker served as the prince's personal chaplain in Monaco. Although Kelly was then in Hollywood shooting "The Swan" and could not attend, Rainier and her parents joined Tucker making a return trip to the Wilmington church in 1956. The visit honored Tucker's 67th birthday, his service in Delaware and Monaco, and the 50th anniversary of his Catholic order, the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, in which he was known as the first American member. On Jan. 9, 1956, The Morning News, a predecessor of The News Journal, detailed the celebration, which was attended by more than 750 people and included Mass at the Wilmington church.
"The prince himself put aside his royal role, and became temporarily a commoner in paying tribute to the chaplain, whom he described as "the only canon I will never fire,'" the newspaper said. When it was Tucker's turn to speak, the crowd sang "Happy Birthday," then he turned to the prince and said, "I think your coming to Delaware is the greatest thing that's happened since my birthday." At the couple's wedding the following April in Monte Carlo, Tucker escorted the groom. And when a 6-year-old boy dropped the bride's ring, Tucker picked it up and steadied the child.
He later christened the royal children, Albert and Princesses Stephanie and Caroline. Kelly died in a 1982 car crash. St. Anthony's congregation mourned her loss like family. Her death heightened the bond between Delaware and the royal couple.
"That's why Crown Prince Albert was so excited about coming to St. Anthony's for the first time," said parishioner Claire DeMatteis, chairperson of the planned May events.
Of the announcement of the royal transition Thursday, DeMatteis said: "We're all very sad. ... Our heart is with Prince Rainier and the family."
Representatives of the royal family notified the church that Albert needed to postpone indefinitely, but wants to reschedule.
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