Two years later, she said, he saw her again at the basilica, remembered her, and gave her a religious medal, which she still treasures.
"I'm going to say a prayer to St. Anthony tonight, and be here tomorrow" for the funeral, she said.
The viewing, which ended at 9 p.m., is to resume Tuesday at 8 a.m. and continue until 1 p.m.
After a 1:40 p.m. processional into the basilica, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput will celebrate Bevilacqua's Funeral Mass starting at 2, after which the body will be entombed in a crypt below the main altar. The Mass will be open to the public.
The cardinal served as archbishop of the 1.5 million-member Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia from 1988 until his retirement in 2003.
Cardinal Justin Rigali, who succeeded him and retired last year, was in the basilica's vestibule Monday evening along with Chaput as the mahogany casket was carried up the steps and through the front doors.
After a brief receiving ceremony, during which Chaput sprinkled the casket with holy water and said a prayer, the two prelates joined in a small procession up the center aisle. The casket, covered with a cream-and-gold pall, was lifted onto a bier in the aisle as the procession continued to the altar.
"God remembers the good we've done and forgives our sins," Chaput told the 200 people in attendance. He commended Bevilacqua to the "kingdom of light and peace" and asked for blessings on "the family and friends who gather around him today."
After the prayer service, the pall was lifted and the casket opened for the viewing. The cardinal was dressed in a cream-colored bishop's miter, and cream-and-gold vestments over the traditional red robes. His hands clutched a rosary, and the square red hat known as a biretta was set at his feet.
Several members of his large extended family wept or dabbed their eyes as the coffin was opened.
