The photos and personal letters are all part of the Billy Graham archive at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Hamilton, Massachusetts.
There’s a street and residence hall named after the famed evangelist who helped co found the school.
“He really believed Boston was the intellectual center of the United States," says seminary president Dennis Hollinger. “He broke down the color barrier very early on in his ministry.”
Hollinger is remembering his friend and the way Graham preached the message of Jesus Christ to millions of people around the world.
The man known as “America’s Pastor” is also being called the most influential religious leader of his era. For decades, he was leading crusades in massive stadiums, even preaching in the Boston Common early on in his ministry.
Growing up as a 14-year-old in Baton Rouge, Lousiana, "our whole youth group went in buses to see the Billy Graham crusade,” said Dana Robert.
The religion professor at Boston University recalls seeing Graham preach in person.
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While Reverend Graham rubbed elbows with presidents, Professor Robert says the recognition of his own flaws kept him humble and accessible.
“Billy Graham had marital problems, but he stayed married, Billy sucked up to the wealthy when he shouldn’t have. And later in life he repented of some of these things.”
A family spokesperson says Reverend Graham died Wednesday morning in North Carolina after battling a long illness. He was 99 years old.
"The message he proclaimed was modeled in his own life,” says Hollinger.
Gordon-Conwell is celebrating Reverend Graham's life and legacy through various events.
