For all the valedictory moments that Joe Biden and his staff lined up for his quiet final weeks in the White House – ceremonies awarding medals to supportive celebrities and political friends, receptions and fleeting moments of reflection with the dwindling number of top aides left around – Thursday is unique.

On what Biden declared to be a National Day of Mourning, Carter’s body was driven from the U.S. Capitol, where he had been lying in state, to the Washington National Cathedral for the state service. Carter had previously laid in repose at the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta.