WILMINGTON, Del. (CNS) -- The Jan. 12 funeral Mass for Jean Biden, the 92-year-old mother of Vice President Joe Biden, was like all other funeral Masses, with prayers of hope for the soul of the faithful departed, but it also was a Mass of Christian burial like the Diocese of Wilmington has never seen.

Those attending the funeral Mass at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Wilmington included President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, former President Bill Clinton, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and several other national and state dignitaries. The uncommon congregation, however, did not distract from the sense of the day and the theme of the funeral Mass.

At the start of his homily, Msgr. J. Thomas Cini, a longtime Biden family friend and the main celebrant of the funeral Mass, acknowledged the family's grief but said they also must feel a sense of gratitude for the life of their mother, grandmother and great-grandmother: Catherine Eugenia (Jean) Finnegan Biden.

"You remember her as the choicest of God's blessings in your lifetime," said Msgr. Cini, a vicar general of the Wilmington Diocese. "She was not only the mother who brought you into this world and gave you life, but she was also your rock, your safe harbor in time of challenge and trouble."

In his eulogy, the vice president recalled his mother as "the spirit and essence of what it meant to be an Irish-American mother." He said she taught the family that they are defined by their "sense of honor" and loyalty.

"Mom is back in Dad's embrace where she belongs," he added, "and we are all at peace."

Msgr. Cini in his homily similarly reminded the congregation that Jean Biden had "ended her earthly pilgrimage" and is in "that new place of joy and peace where she is reunited with her husband" and relatives. "You can imagine the Irish feast that's going on right now -- and she's leading them," he said.

The priest said that during the Last Supper Jesus told his apostles he was leaving them and returning to the Father "to prepare a place for you, his final assurance that his departure is in order that we may live through him forever."

Christ's death is a sacrificial one, Msgr. Cini said, a model we all must copy in life. "That is what we are really about: gifts of self to one another, people of service, reaching out in loving service, sacrificing for one another. And where do we find that example most beautifully and completely in a human than in a mother?"

Wilmington Bishop W. Francis Malooly, who was present in the sanctuary for the Mass, described the liturgy as a celebration "of a very dedicated, committed woman. That came through very clearly in the comments the vice president and his sister, Valerie, made about their mother."

Before delivering his eulogy, Vice President Biden thanked the eight priests concelebrating the Mass, especially Msgr. Cini. "You're a good friend, Tom. You've been there for all the important moments." He also thanked Msgr. Clement Lemon, pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary, "for allowing Mom to come back to the church where she was from 1955 on," noting she had been one of the founding parishioners.

The church was surrounded by security before the Mass because of the president's attendance and members of the congregation were required to pass through metal detectors.

After Mass, the family traveled to St. Joseph on the Brandywine Cemetery for a private burial.

Copyright © 2010 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops