The body of Senator Ted Kennedy arrived at the JFK Library in Boston late Thursday afternoon. His body will stay there for public visitation until Saturday.

His body will be buried next to his brothers at the Arlington National Cemetary in Virginia.

Members of the storied Kennedy clan gathered at the family compound in Hyannis Port on Cape Cod for a private mass. Ted's widow, Victoria, along with his sole remaining sibling, Jean Kennedy Smith, led the group as the senator's casket was lifted into the hearse.

The motorcade, led by an honor guard, then departed for the 70 mile journey north, as Ted Kennedy left his beloved Cape Cod for the final time.

A neighbor said, "He was a friend to people who lived here, and he was the champion for the people with no voice."

The motorcade wove its way towards Boston, for a symbolic good-bye to the late senator's hometown.

Bells at Fanueil Hall will rang 47 times, one for each year Kennedy spent in the U.S. Senate.

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said, "It's a small way of saying thank you to the guy. Senator Kennedy was one of those special elected officials because it was always about people and how he could help people."

At the presidential library of Kennedy's brother JFK, the senator will lie in repose late this afternoon and all of tomorrow. Members of the public will be able to file past the closed casket to pay their respects.

Robert Allison a history professor at Suffolk University says, "I've known republicans in Massachusetts who've said if there ever was a serious chance someone would defeat him, they would vote for Kennedy just because he delivered so much to the people of Massachusetts."

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