{"id":4671,"date":"2025-04-26T18:02:35","date_gmt":"2025-04-26T18:02:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/04\/26\/who-is-kielce-gussie-the-american-journalist-who-did-the-first-reading-at-pope-francis-funeral\/"},"modified":"2025-04-26T18:02:35","modified_gmt":"2025-04-26T18:02:35","slug":"who-is-kielce-gussie-the-american-journalist-who-did-the-first-reading-at-pope-francis-funeral","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/04\/26\/who-is-kielce-gussie-the-american-journalist-who-did-the-first-reading-at-pope-francis-funeral\/","title":{"rendered":"Who is Kielce Gussie, the American journalist who did the first reading at Pope Francis&#8217; funeral"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"article-0\">\n<figure class=\"embed embed--type-video embed--type-content_video is-video embed--float-none embed--size-medium is-hero \" data-ads=\"{\" extrawordcount=\"\">\n<div class=\"embed__content-wrapper\">\n<link rel=\"preload\" as=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/04\/26\/f252e7a7-60d9-45a3-bd00-0c9160f2884e\/thumbnail\/1280x720\/ff0c614c1bc2bed62d7aaf8524236aec\/cbsn-fusion-first-reading-at-pope-francis-funeral-thumbnail.png?v=8e9dede207b29c97b32974c53e32aabc\"\/>\n<p><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" style=\"position:absolute;width:0;height:0\">\n  <defs>\n    <symbol id=\"player-icon-pause\" viewbox=\"0 0 32 32\">\n      <path d=\"M4 4h10v24h-10zM18 4h10v24h-10z\"\/>\n    <\/symbol>\n    <symbol id=\"player-icon-play\" viewbox=\"0 0 32 32\">\n      <path d=\"M6 4l20 12-20 12z\"\/>\n    <\/symbol>\n    <symbol id=\"player-icon-close\" viewbox=\"0 0 32 32\">\n      <line stroke-width=\"6\" x1=\"3\" y1=\"3\" x2=\"29\" y2=\"29\"\/>\n      <line stroke-width=\"6\" x1=\"29\" y1=\"3\" x2=\"3\" y2=\"29\"\/>\n    <\/symbol>\n    <symbol id=\"player-icon-fullscreen\" viewbox=\"0 0 32 32\">\n      <path d=\"M32 0h-13l5 5-6 6 3 3 6-6 5 5z\"\/>\n      <path d=\"M32 32v-13l-5 5-6-6-3 3 6 6-5 5z\"\/>\n      <path d=\"M0 32h13l-5-5 6-6-3-3-6 6-5-5z\"\/>\n      <path d=\"M0 0v13l5-5 6 6 3-3-6-6 5-5z\"\/>\n    <\/symbol>\n    <symbol id=\"player-icon-drag\" viewbox=\"0 0 40 55\">\n      <g fill=\"#f5f5f5\">\n        <circle cx=\"5\" cy=\"5\" r=\"5\"\/>\n        <circle cx=\"20\" cy=\"5\" r=\"5\"\/>\n        <circle cx=\"35\" cy=\"5\" r=\"5\"\/>\n        <circle cx=\"5\" cy=\"20\" r=\"5\"\/>\n        <circle cx=\"20\" cy=\"20\" r=\"5\"\/>\n        <circle cx=\"35\" cy=\"20\" r=\"5\"\/>\n        <circle cx=\"5\" cy=\"35\" r=\"5\"\/>\n        <circle cx=\"20\" cy=\"35\" r=\"5\"\/>\n        <circle cx=\"35\" cy=\"35\" r=\"5\"\/>\n        <circle cx=\"5\" cy=\"50\" r=\"5\"\/>\n        <circle cx=\"20\" cy=\"50\" r=\"5\"\/>\n        <circle cx=\"35\" cy=\"50\" r=\"5\"\/>\n      <\/g>\n    <\/symbol>\n  <\/defs>\n<\/svg><\/p>\n<div class=\"embed__sticky-content lazyload\" data-component=\"viewability\" data-viewability-options=\"true\">\n<div class=\"player-overlay__container  player-overlay--draggable \" data-theme=\"default\">\n<p>\n                  <svg class=\"player-overlay--icon-grid\">\n            <use xlink:href=\"#player-icon-drag\"\/>\n          <\/svg><\/p>\n<p>                  <span class=\"player-overlay__title\">First reading at Pope Francis&#8217; funeral <\/span><\/p>\n<p>        <button class=\"player-overlay__button player-overlay__button--close\" data-target=\"\" aria-label=\"Disable small player\"><br \/>\n          <svg class=\"player-overlay__button--icon player-overlay__button--icon-close\">\n            <use xlink:href=\"#player-icon-close\"\/>\n          <\/svg><br \/>\n        <\/button><\/p>\n<p>  <iframe data-src=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/embed\/video\/?v=8e9dede207b29c97b32974c53e32aabc1745687819&amp;usprivacy=null#xVgLb9s4Ev4rgoD1AZcw1vvhhbHn2Ek2aDfJJe0ecHFhUCJlc6MXRMlJmvq%2F3wwl%2BZEW2yxwvWsKSxrNcIYzH%2BehF502dVGm9Fkf1VXDj3Uhp0Wa0lKKKOX6KKGpBCrjaxHDI9zIBxDQj%2FW1YLzQRy%2B6qHkm9dH9i14%2Fl8izLhi8FwxuTcNmkWdExHQTnzgscgjlUUS8hCZJxBzfiV3gzcqnW55cosTFv4vp9fTmwrmjN%2BE%2FjXxx%2B6%2BH2Hysb%2BtVs3i3%2FAO4i0osRX7GRC2KHEQaCUSZNku4T0Qla1JxykS%2BJLQmZVFyklQ0j4UkSZPziqbAXosat6efI7%2FW8Wu01m6AXztv%2Bf%2Bm7QQYfwB2uEmaNO2lJxmvRExz7Z3gacy1i0ZKwTXGU7HmldSSt64OaxQ5rJR%2B%2BG%2BvXIuMy5pmpT4yfcf1XDdwDPgHO2oq2nrQNsPd43sa8RQsMNyRGcICafucw7YhqBldcolRlxisVV2XcjQfzodUSl5L6ySOZM4fJWisRXwSF9l8uGqi%2BVDMh9V8aBmWOx8aDtx582FiuRb3qU88g4XEcalNImYYxIhD0zMSKwgcPh9C3LMopyKdDz3HeLI9Yz7kkRvQxLVMj9rw68BfyIMkDAM%2FomZizYdoB4RbwobImzBBtnpOynz5y3oc8JBxxi3Dj6wwDv3ItkKEq81ti9IoBtesvuUD%2B8f6wLQC48m3wAlJYsSe6cRmFFsRZ57FfEqTwLUcy%2FYoj%2F8nTtgc62UFyYE%2FfqzSA2%2BUVcFOIBWoPNH7pPVG9zAfrsEfqxRubN80TD9YqIeMyppXJ5ndBLs886NWtn7I0klRZbSGpWlZpnCO8WDNh08kK%2Fny4%2B174Gheuevx8fFQnzIBovyWuM2HmHDlZVYWaMU2bUOmFrHK0YjUOOSOaUScRA4FrPmWT6LQo8S0bBb4vmt4cbTLpLLksQBIVLwsqlqSOBUlJtqVAI1VvIKKcd8zaR0TSh9StFbsE8CEVjyvP6BFVzTDHHfXsd5uhbdrnz63PPffYJr2K9I03bOBfGXDK9M%2FAVZ5KWTBYGETuDiVqn6YKMKXGZjXvmhKwLSUWzeCokkcA%2BU0LeKHbS6UHyWv7ppIxpWAA7hll2WRy6Lq%2BVb8aTLjCW1SBIRxDH%2B6op7uqHZ47LjHLuZbyjBgyWP7u0hF%2FnAAFD8xfP9kfZI8ZlV2kvMaEg%2BbD5eQGn6JpWDjF0jSIIj3mwGV%2BePYtQzbNAcxxbf4uxkkKV2Of7JOaRZHcOFZXMGF1RWDi0zrUl3UO6j8eEkiqt495zFc8kYJUF6LQcbramwalj3Y6YKDlHT3P9mTi6JYpnw2uZzeTS4XV8XvN5PL2aBcV%2Fn4%2FnZyNbv%2B7dMAPF6O1xktTdQJp8kZyD3j1%2BU%2B8xqq1dj4eQH7lNB%2FLEooS%2BMXOGwL3BySc6ibkueLlja%2BMabG1PYnM2IZU4c4Z%2Bc%2BmZxbLjk9O52emt7sPHDPButlgy5Sl81Afh6%2FYGvEK1DymW8GKzhdYxUJ2NNP1jn8f3VsByX2QCCGl9aQB%2F68eCwqJscv6jhuBm0zNX5pr5sB6KgxYYwfeaREhFwACQKpru0yjVyUlVjT%2BBlWb282g2VZjl%2FgZyHrCtKDIiwUBroboIg1%2BO3i%2Bvri%2Fdni8uruw%2B3Z5LfF75ezs%2BvF1fXV9OzT4CXJYHFa0UxuftbVSaWZKvKIIQDfPqIQoRAWfdTGBVuXlkfhClMfIAuejxBZR4irI0TVEWLqCBF1hHg6QjQdIZaOEElHiCPsAwFJcAQBSsf6vg5EE6zZPo6%2BiSa0G%2FAEXD1IgIKYwoYUUXWkMIVH%2FcB8xNWhEGJLH0GDdIAu3GKHL719dYgweP8mjKEChBeu1%2BIMTfqMj%2FtYwwwBaPuzEoE77jruDm%2BdYVvE4ZsWc%2FpeC9%2FjDuU75AEVsNeJt6hTYW%2Fx19F3CFQaOwzCS8AaUvZw2BIXHXp6LCIV0Ije%2FjM8qp5iZ1g%2FcWyAXFc0fgAFCptFJuOi4uoeqrhtGK4ReABIB6Smp3dXOz%2FFHpD%2BjukYHnIJZi5URNGVLYWWC4qWXc2Hky1PjF5Yx6a5paiI7K%2BNVi3bOSgumhy2j%2B3xPVSnKAVbU4ESqHiDBeMcbs76EtRVC9VSX0NTXwmktjUjpiW2DPKv9pe93Hz4vTnqhLJo8ZSlb%2Bt0s%2BbppoLGo6qf33GMv%2BX4nFHXs02fma4TOiF0ETa1PX3zSZ1jqoYECFjNl894D7RVwdqWiOdMea4f2jitm4ozEuMMwnF67IANm4NiioV5N7JhBioF3Gx7pKcVtGQxjK08bhutrRj0T6%2FWhlbpFZCEPMspDLusawVoBW5N%2BaQBeyucSe%2F1wLMs1wlsYoeBSRzDYiQIPYfAKBsYcRz4DndVR7Iv2ncwaQPNiCY02UAH9FmTFNTueNXQazg8hE6MEisJE%2BLQJCSRYZokME1KzSCKaGjvLLtpohlsBaMAswQxHGJ5mhGMHHvkWK83gBD6hgXHK5ryZ62o653AHY%2BLnNHqeSt5v7MTx21Fe8Gh3rJpRIkXBBFxPGgmQ3ADsZjlUMcAODCKwN1q2GxX6cfbx1WhCak9tMPtUg23x1q94hrtB98%2FiqbKKR4gDbmZYOr9V4Mv9sNa8vXg22vsgZTXgIdFR8WcsMVLF2MWxKYfR4SZESTvhFqE%2BpFPYGr2E8ohwszBuO3k%2BgDvW4AcbX7tFO8%2BmAg542sMmiqxy54Bj%2FICv6FgHYDr6%2B8aQPpVYE9%2Fr0NSTxlqQOJdawQ6U5FbarcoFj5IA2LNtTaxqzKgsOYZvps4RkB8N2DENLlFQmZaxDDMIOEBNYzI6AW6Rr1XkIpMYAJ0OmXX6kNMb2mPIoibqjOQprQuwUbgHHbT5XRlRZfD2vq689H2O8gNrVfqiLczFyCAwLjT4oW0eCE9VMgOKt%2Beag9mKDUrbfW8nlq%2FGsN%2BjH6YKNQkJHdhPdb3ZbF5KTLE6RqzPCiJRf2sYt%2Bf0u0CXxEvWUdGmHUx%2FFE7WdzsdHSOG%2F0oXT3AZ30rcwjzL1%2B%2B7JCEvDcVFNfq%2BbbtQ8A60ZdOeIlVjVYP0Hjmy2laNOy6Wl623yxntgn53rXc83PXD42JExozZ%2FaPCSsiwPxSJY%2FD5kPvug%2B9az8O27S3tx9Qu%2Bhhs7G%2FEg6wKg23X1a%2Fm4S1kbaf5nHXh5HqiFPVj%2BwRaw5xaTLcHc8xZ%2BF3Eb3tw0W6x6scucGCzwS9KaRKXV0OSiFyXar7P50y1R58V%2Fdf%2FNCy2fwH\" class=\"lazyload embed__frame\" data-width=\"1920\" data-height=\"1080\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" id=\"first-reading-at-pope-francis-funeral--hero\" title=\"Video: American Kielce Gussie delivers first reading at Pope Francis' funeral\" data-sort-time=\"1745658307000\" data-update-time=\"1745658307000\"><\/iframe><\/p><\/div>\n<p>          <button class=\"player-overlay__button--icon-close__mobile\" data-target=\"\" aria-label=\"Close sticky player\"><br \/>\n        <svg class=\"player-overlay__button--icon\">\n          <use xlink:href=\"#player-icon-close\"\/>\n        <\/svg><br \/>\n      <\/button><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div><figcaption class=\"embed__caption-container\">\n                              <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/video\/first-reading-at-pope-francis-funeral\/\" class=\"embed__headline-link\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\"><\/p>\n<p>          <span class=\"embed__icon\"><br \/>\n            <svg viewbox=\"0 0 32 32\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n              <use xlink:href=\"#icon-video\"\/>\n            <\/svg><br \/>\n          <\/span><\/p>\n<p>          <span class=\"embed__headline\">American Kielce Gussie delivers first reading at Pope Francis&#8217; funeral<\/span><\/p>\n<p>          <span class=\"embed__video-duration\">05:19<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                      <\/a><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<section class=\"content__body\">\n<p>Thousands of people from around the world paid their respects to the late <span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/pope-francis-funeral-procession-watch\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">Pope Francis as he was laid to rest<\/a><\/span> on Saturday in Italy.<\/p>\n<p>Among them was American journalist Kielce Gussie, who played a role during the funeral Mass at St. Peter&#8217;s Square, where she did the first reading.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;My initial thought was &#8216;Oh my god&#8217; but then, after I thought &#8216;this is such a huge honor,&#8217; to be a part of this momentous occasion,&#8221; she told CBS News ahead of the funeral. &#8220;Also, for me, it&#8217;s such a big way to say thank you to Pope Francis.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The 28-year-old is an American journalist with Vatican News who has a Bachelor of Arts from Mount St. Mary University in Maryland and a licentiate degree in Church Communication from the Pontifical University in Rome.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"embed embed--type-image is-image embed--float-none embed--size-medium\">\n<p>      <span class=\"img embed__content\"><\/span><figcaption class=\"embed__caption-container\">\n<p>                  <span class=\"embed__caption\">American journalist Kielce Gussie did the first reading at Pope Francis&#8217; funeral.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                  <span class=\"embed__credit\"><\/p>\n<p>                CBS News\/Cameron Stewart<\/p>\n<p>                          <\/span><br \/>\n              <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Born and raised Catholic, Gussie has been living in Rome since 2019, where she worked as a news producer for EWTN and Rome Reports before becoming a Vatican News reporter in October 2024. She is also a contributor to the Vatican newspaper L&#8217;Osservatore Romano.<\/p>\n<p>She met Pope Francis twice before his death: the first time, he blessed her rosary, and the second time, on her birthday.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In those moments, I didn&#8217;t see him as the head of the Catholic Church, I saw him as a grandfather,&#8221; she said. &#8220;And so for me, I will remember him as someone who really cared for each person that he met.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Francis is breaking with recent tradition and will be buried in the St. Mary Major Basilica (Santa Maria Maggiore), where a simple underground tomb awaits him with just his name: Franciscus.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content__meta--contributors\">\n      <em><\/p>\n<p>                                  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/team\/tony-aiello\/\" class=\"byline__author__link\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">Tony  Aiello<\/a><\/p>\n<p>        contributed to this report.<br \/>\n      <\/em>\n    <\/p>\n<p>    <!-- data-recirc-source=\"chartbeat\" --><\/p>\n<aside class=\"component list recirculation component--type-recirculation component--type-recirculation-collection\">\n<p>                  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/feature\/pope-francis\/?intcid=CNI-00-10aaa3a\" class=\"component__view-more component__view-more--sm\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\"><br \/>\n            More<br \/>\n            <svg viewbox=\"0 0 32 32\" class=\"icon__caret-right\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n              <use xlink:href=\"#icon-caret-down\"\/>\n            <\/svg><br \/>\n          <\/a><br \/>\n                    <\/aside>\n<p>    <!-- tags --><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-author\">\n      <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/team\/lucia-suarez-sang\/\" class=\"content-author__name\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">Lucia I Suarez Sang<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-author__bio\">\n<div class=\"content-author__full-information\">\n<p class=\"content-author__text\">Lucia Suarez Sang is an associate managing editor at CBSNews.com. Previously, Lucia was the director of digital content at FOX61 News in Connecticut and has previously written for outlets including FoxNews.com, Fox News Latino and the Rutland Herald.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>First reading at Pope Francis&#8217; funeral American Kielce Gussie delivers first reading at Pope Francis&#8217; funeral 05:19 Thousands of people from around the world paid their respects to the late Pope Francis as he was laid to rest on Saturday in Italy. Among them was American journalist Kielce Gussie, who played a role during the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4672,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world-news"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4671"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4671\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4673,"href":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4671\/revisions\/4673"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}