{"id":291135,"date":"2025-04-26T19:54:07","date_gmt":"2025-04-26T19:54:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/26\/who-is-kielce-gussie-the-american-who-did-the-first-reading-at-pope-francis-funeral\/"},"modified":"2025-04-26T19:54:07","modified_gmt":"2025-04-26T19:54:07","slug":"who-is-kielce-gussie-the-american-who-did-the-first-reading-at-pope-francis-funeral","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/26\/who-is-kielce-gussie-the-american-who-did-the-first-reading-at-pope-francis-funeral\/","title":{"rendered":"Who Is Kielce Gussie, the American Who Did the First Reading at Pope Francis\u2019 Funeral?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The honor of delivering the first reading at Pope Francis\u2019 funeral Mass on Saturday fell to Kielce Gussie, an American who works as a reporter with Vatican News.<\/p>\n

It was, she said on social media, \u201ca great way to say goodbye\u201d to the pontiff.<\/p>\n

In a strong, resonant voice before the many thousands of mourners who had gathered in St. Peter\u2019s Square in Vatican City, Ms. Gussie read from the Acts of the Apostles 10: 34-43, a Bible verse that Francis chose for the service<\/a> and that holds large significance for Catholics.<\/p>\n

Ms. Gussie, 28, grew up in Florida, and graduated from Mount St. Mary\u2019s University in Maryland with a degree in theology, according to her LinkedIn profile<\/a>. She began working in Rome in 2019, according to her profile, and last October joined Vatican News \u2014 a news agency that Francis created to bolster news coverage of the church and the Vatican.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really happy to be here because it\u2019s a great way to say goodbye to Pope Francis,\u201d Ms. Gussie said on social media outside St. Peter\u2019s Basilica<\/a> on Saturday morning before the Mass. She added that her last memory of Francis was from her birthday. \u201cHe gave me a little blessing,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s really a special way to spend my birthday.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said it had been difficult to see Francis grow frail in his final days, \u201cbut he gave everything until the end.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n