Late U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy, the last powerful member of the Kennedy family, was buried in Arlington National Cemetery outside Washington DC Saturday evening.

President Barack Obama gives the eulogy at the Roman Catholic Funeral Mass for Sen. Edward M. Kennedy at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica in Boston, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009.

Kennedy, 77, was laid to rest after a procession through the capital city that included a stop at the U.S. Capitol.

Thousands lined the streets as his hearse passed by toward Arlington National Cemetery, which is across the Potomac River in Virginia.

As TV footage showed, a large crowd that had assembled at the steps and across the street from the Capitol applauded as the hearse carrying the flag-draped coffin pulled up, and family members emerged to greet members of Kennedy’s staff and congressional colleagues.

Many in the crowd held framed photos of Kennedy, and many held American flags that they waved during a singing of “America the Beautiful.”

Earlier in the day at the funeral in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. President Barack Obama hailed Kennedy as “a champion for those who had none; the soul of the Democratic Party; and the lion of the U.S. Senate.”

“We can still hear his voice bellowing through the Senate chamber, face reddened, fist pounding the podium, a veritable force of nature, in support of health care or workers’ rights or civil rights,” he said, calling Kennedy “the greatest legislator of our time.”

Kennedy died Tuesday night in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, after a15-month battle with brain cancer.

An estimated 50,000 people paid tribute to the late U.S. senator at John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston, where the public viewing of his casket was held there between Thursday and Friday.

At least 40 of Kennedy’s fellow senators and former U.S. presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush attended Saturday morning’s funeral at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica in Boston’s Mission Hill section, a short distance from the library.

Obama, who called Kennedy an “extraordinary leader,” delivered an eulogy at the funeral.

At Arlington cemetery, Kennedy’s grave is some 30 meters south of his brother, former Attorney General Robert Kennedy’s grave, which is just steps away from the burial site of another brother, former president John F. Kennedy.

A single white, wooden cross will be placed at the head of the grave and a marble footmarker put in place.

The setup is identical to Robert Kennedy’s grave, according to Arlington cemetery spokeswoman Kaitlin Horst.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet