POPE FRANCIS: A Tribute to the First Latin American Pontiff
On the cover
On Sept. 26, 2015, thousands cheered as Pope Francis rolled past in his modified Jeep Wrangler popemobile en route to Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were signed. On his lone visit to the United States, two years after the beginning of his papacy, Francis addressed Congress in Washington, addressed the United Nations and visited the 9/11 memorial in New York, and celebrated Mass with hundreds of thousands in the streets of the City of Brotherly Love. SUCHAT PEDERSON / DELAWARE NEWS JOURNAL
RIGHT: In February 2016, Pope Francis visited Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas. In a Mass at the border, Francis called migrants our “brothers and sisters” and said those who helped them were “prophets of mercy.”
MARK LAMBIE
/ EL PASO TIMES
About the Book
“Pope Francis” condenses a dozen years’ worth of coverage from USA TODAY and the USA TODAY Network. It focuses on Francis’ election as the 266th pope in 2013, his visit to the United States in 2015, his death in 2025 and the legacy of his transformative papacy. Follow news of his successor, Pope Leo XIV, at usatoday.com. Order a print subscription to USA TODAY or access its eNewspaper at 800-872-0001.
POPE LEO XIV
From Chicago to Rome. From Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost to Pope Leo XIV. From humble servant of God and Pope Francis’ friend to the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Roman Catholics. USA TODAY has crafted a hardcover coffee-table book chronicling the amazing story of the first American-born pontiff. Order “ Pope Leo XIV: The First American Pope” at PopeLeo.PictorialBook.com.
Special thanks Alicia Del Gallo, Chris Thomas, Chris Fenison, Vanessa Cotton, Tracy Collins, Rev. Joyce Myers-Brown, Bishop Miege teachers, staff and students (1974-78)
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright owner or the publisher.
Published by Pediment Publishing, a division of The Pediment Group, Inc. • www.pediment.com Printed in Canada.
This book is an unofficial account of the life and legacy of Pope Francis by USA TODAY and is not endorsed by Pope Francis or the Vatican.
Project coordinator
Gene Myers
To Teresa (Tess) Marie Wittwer Myers, who lived her Roman Catholic faith for 83 years and passed its values on to her four rambunctious children.
In his words
“The earth cries out! When we force our hand, nature shows her cruel face and man is crushed, forced to cry out in fear. … We are called upon to protect the world, not to despoil it.”
Foreword
A Catholic craving a spiritual connection, I discovered it through Francis’ holiness
ELVIA DÍAZ
| APRIL 21, 2025
My heart ached for a world without Pope Francis. His death on April 21 at 88 was inevitable, yet it still was shocking and painful for Catholics everywhere.
Francis was the first Latin American pontiff to lead the Vatican. His language and cultural affinity were important, of course, but that wasn’t what touched my heart during his 12-year papacy.
It was Francis’ unwavering devotion to the poor, the sick, the persecuted and the marginalized that gave me hope about humanity. He understood that those were the people around the world that needed a voice, that needed a helping hand, that needed compassion.
God knows we need a lot of that now more than ever.
FEELING OUT OF TOUCH
I never had heard of him until March 2013, when he was announced as the 266th pope. He replaced Pope Benedict XVI, whose resignation had stunned the universe but of whom I had no affinity. Immediately, Jorge Mario Bergoglio — who chose to be called Pope Francis after Francis of Assisi — captured my heart, my imagination and my hope for a more progressive church — or at least a church that listened to people’s suffering over the usual politicking of the 2,000-year institution.
I’m not the kind of Catholic who followed the Vatican’s commands unquestioned. My daughter noticed as a teenager that I remained silent during our weekly Mass when the priest would pray for the end of contraception or other
stances in which I disagreed.
At some point, my daughter, who was attending Catholic school then, asked me why we went to Mass if I didn’t believe in it.
HIS COMPASSION REIGNED
I’m not sure she bought my explanation. My faith, I told her, wasn’t based on the church itself.
The Vatican was the institution that managed the faith and historically had done a terrible job by excluding women from the priesthood and often ignoring people’s realities and suffering.
Sunday Mass still gave me the spiritual connection I craved. The music, the smell of incense and the prayer sent me into a trance that was hard to describe to nonbelievers. But some of the words
Elvia Díaz is the editorial page editor for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com in Phoenix. As a columnist, she covers all things Arizona, politics, immigration and Mexico and shares information in English and Spanish. A Mexican native, Díaz worked in California, Oregon and New Mexico before joining The Republic in 1999.
uttered by the priest at the altar didn’t resonate with my core beliefs. Something profound happened with Francis. He exuded humility and compassion and committed himself to reforming
OPPOSITE: In September 2015, during Pope Francis’ visit to the United States, Trenton Shepherd of Washington kissed the Fisherman’s Ring during the pontiff’s visit to St. Patrick Church in the capital, where he met with parishioners, immigrants and clients of Catholic Charities. MIKE THEILER / REUTERS
CHAPTER ONE
THE PEOPLE’S POPE
“God never tires of forgiving; we are the ones who tire of asking forgiveness.”
Pope Francis
OPPOSITE: St. Peter’s Square was packed shoulder-to-shoulder and umbrella-to-umbrella as people waited for the new pope to appear on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica. On March 13, 2013, cardinals elected a surprise choice, Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, to lead the Roman Catholic Church. MAX ROSSI / REUTERS
In his words
“This is important. For without these attitudes, without these contributions of the woman, the human vocation would not be realized.”
JD Vance, U.S. vice president: “My heart goes out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him. May God rest his soul.”
Al Gore, former U.S. vice president: “His humble leadership on the climate crisis sparked a moral movement that will continue to light the way forward for humanity. His advocacy of social and economic justice inspired billions around the world.”
King Charles of the United Kingdom: “His Holiness will be remembered for his compassion, his concern for the unity of the Church and for his tireless commitment to the common causes of all people of faith and to those of goodwill who work for the benefit of others. Through his work and care for both people and planet, he profoundly touched the lives of so many.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, president of Ukraine: “His life was devoted to God, to people and to the Church. He knew how to give hope, ease suffering through prayer and foster unity. He
prayed for peace in Ukraine and for Ukrainians. We grieve together with Catholics and all Christians who looked to Pope Francis for spiritual support. Eternal memory!”
Javier Milei, president of Argentina:
“Despite differences that seem minor today, having been able to know him in his kindness and wisdom was a true honor for me. As president, as an Argentine and, fundamentally, as a man of faith, I bid farewell to the Holy Father and stand with all of us who are today dealing with this sad news.”
Isaac Herzog, president of Israel:
“I send my deepest condolences to the Christian world and especially the Christian communities in Israel — the Holy Land — on the loss of their great spiritual father, His Holiness Pope Francis. A man of deep faith and boundless compassion, he dedicated his life to uplifting the poor and calling for peace in a troubled world. He rightly saw great importance in fostering strong ties with the Jewish world and in advancing interfaith
dialogue as a path toward greater understanding and mutual respect.”
Emmanuel Macron, president of France: “From Buenos Aires to Rome, Pope Francis wanted the Church to bring joy and hope to the poorest. To unite people with one another and with nature. May this hope be reborn endlessly beyond him.”
Dalai Lama of Tibet: “His Holiness Pope Francis dedicated himself to the service of others, consistently revealing by his own actions how to live a simple, but meaningful life. The best tribute we can pay to him is to be a warmhearted person, serving others wherever and in whatever way we can.”
Queen Rania of Jordan: “In a world that can often feel heartless, Pope Francis always had love to spare — for the less fortunate, refugee families and children in war zones, in Gaza and around the world. Humanity has lost an invaluable champion for peace and compassion today.”
Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints: “As the world pauses to remember his example of forgiveness and service, we feel deep gratitude for the goodness of a life well lived and rejoice in the hope of a glorious resurrection made possible through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ.”
Mark Carney, prime minister of Canada: “Through his teachings and actions, Pope Francis redefined the moral responsibilities of leadership in the 21st century. His Holiness understood, and taught, that value in the market must never eclipse values in society.”
Rev. Robert A. Dowd, University of Notre Dame president: “As Pope Francis often reminded us, no one is far from God’s merciful love, and the Church must be a ‘field hospital’ to warm hearts, heal wounds and open doors.”
— Compiled by Dinah Voyles Pulver, Melissa Montoya and Joey Carrison
OPPOSITE: On Sept. 22, 2015, Pope Francis touched American soil for the first time when he flew from Cuba to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. In a move that violated standard presidential protocol, Barack Obama (and Michelle Obama) met the pontiff upon his arrival. A White House meeting was set for the next day. JACK GRUBER / USA TODAY
In his words
“It is normal for husband and wife to argue and to raise their voices, they squabble, and even plates go flying! So do not be afraid of this when it happens.”
From Cuba, Francis flies to Washington, becomes third pope to visit White House
GREGORY KORTE AND SUSAN MILLER | SEPT. 22-23, 2015
Pope Francis’ gleaming white Alitalia plane — colloquially known as “Shepherd One” — touched down at Joint Base Andrews, as the pontiff began a historic six-day, three-city U.S. visit on Sept. 22, 2015, that would have political, diplomatic and spiritual ramifications.
Francis arrived after a four-day trip to Cuba. As the first Latin American pope, Francis made a conscious decision to enter the United States through Cuba, a Spanish-speaking island nation for whom Francis worked behind the scenes to gain formal recognition from the U.S. after a 45-year break in relations.
Eschewing the usual protocol for a state visit, President Barak Obama and Vice President Joe Biden opted to greet the
papal plane at the Air Force base outside Washington before Francis departed in a hatchback Fiat to begin his tightly scheduled, carefully choreographed and highly anticipated visit that also would include stops in New York and Philadelphia.
In the U.S. for the first time, Francis greeted Obama with a handshake, and the president responded with a short but perceptible bow. He became the 11th consecutive president to meet with a pope, going back to Dwight Eisenhower in 1959.
Francis began the next day at the White House. As the Vatican head of state, he was greeted in a formal diplomatic ceremony with military bands, speeches and a crowd of thousands before a oneon-one meeting in the Oval Office. Only two other popes had visited the White
House: John Paul II to see Jimmy Carter in 1979 and Benedict XVI to see George W. Bush in 2008.
Making his first extended speech in English, Francis said American Catholics were “committed to building a society which is truly tolerant and inclusive, to safeguarding the rights of individuals and communities and to reject every form of unjust discrimination.”
Francis offered a forceful endorsement of his host’s proposals “for reducing air pollution” and described climate change as “a problem which can no longer be left to our future generations.”
Obama gave Francis a metal sculpture of an ascending dove and a key from the Maryland home of Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first native-born American to be
declared a saint. She was canonized in 1975; the key dated from 1809.
Next, Francis addressed U.S. bishops at a prayer service at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle. He urged them to take care of the spiritual needs of priests and to welcome immigrants to the U.S., gently admonishing them to “flee the temptation of narcissism.”
Francis also urged them to confront the issues of the world: The response to abortion, childhood hunger, immigration, the elderly and terrorism were “essential aspects of the church’s mission.”
He declared: “It is wrong, then, to look the other way or to remain silent.”
— David Jackson contributed.
OPPOSITE: “Shepherd One” carrying Pope Francis landed at Joint Base Andrews, to be greeted by the extended Obama and Biden families, a major general, an ambassador, 15 clerics and many others. People chanted, “We love Francis, yes we do” in English and “Holy father, bless your children” in Spanish. JACK GRUBER / USA TODAY
“God is not afraid of new things.”
In first papal address to Congress, Francis urges action on immigration, climate change
PAUL SINGER | SEPT. 24, 2015
In the first papal address to a joint meeting of Congress, Pope Francis called on Americans to embrace immigrants from Latin America and around the world.
“Our world is facing a refugee crisis of a magnitude not seen since the second World War,” Francis said, including “thousands of persons (who) are led to travel north in search of a better life.”
“We must not be taken aback by their numbers, but rather view them as persons, seeing their faces and listening to their stories, trying to respond as best we can to their situation,” Francis said in a 45-minute speech. “To respond in a way which is always humane, just and fraternal. We need to avoid a common temptation nowadays: to discard whatever proves troublesome.”
Speaking slowly in English before a packed House chamber, including the assembled members of Congress and hundreds of dignitaries and reporters, the Argentine pope said, “We, the people of this continent, are not fearful of foreigners, because most of us once were foreigners.”
The pope’s immigration plea came in the middle of a fierce debate in American politics about illegal immigration, fueled in part by Donald Trump’s strong campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. Trump launched his campaign with a tirade against Mexico for sending “rapists” across the border and had promised that if elected in 2016 he would build an impenetrable fence across the U.S.-Mexico border.
Conservatives in Congress, meanwhile,
were looking for ways to use federal spending bills to block President Barack Obama’s executive orders granting work permits and temporary legal status to some undocumented immigrants.
A host of Republican presidential candidates attended the speech, including Sens. Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham and, in the visitors’ gallery, Ben Carson and Chris Christie. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Democratic presidential candidate, was on the floor.
As he did the previous day at his appearance with Obama, the pope called for action to combat climate change.
Quoting from his encyclical in May on the environment, Francis told Congress: “I call for a courageous and responsible effort to ‘redirect our steps’ and to avert the most serious effects of the environmental
deterioration caused by human activity. I am convinced that we can make a difference, and I have no doubt that the United States — and this Congress — have an important role to play.”
Republicans had raised strong objections to Obama’s plan to cut carbon emissions from power plants, arguing that it would damage the economy without making any meaningful improvement in the environment.
As House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Vice President Joe Biden, both Catholics, sat behind him, the pope said the Golden Rule “reminds us of our responsibility to protect and defend human life at every stage of its development,” then he pivoted immediately to a call for abolition of the death penalty, not a discourse on abortion.
OPPOSITE: Pope Francis made history by becoming the first pontiff to address a joint session of Congress. Until Dwight Eisenhower met John XXIII in 1959, Woodrow Wilson had been the only president to meet a pope. Wilson did so in 1919 during a European trip to negotiate the end of World War I. ANDREW P. SCOTT / USA TODAY
In his words
“May no one use religion as a pretext for actions against
human dignity and against the fundamental rights of every man and woman.”
RIGHT: Before addressing a joint session of Congress on Sept. 24, 2015, Pope Francis exchanged greetings with Vice President Joe Biden (left) and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. Biden and Boehner were Catholics. After Francis’ speech, Congress began debate to prevent a government shutdown on Oct. 1. Eventually, Congress passed a temporary spending bill to fund the government until Dec. 11.
ANDREW P. SCOTT / USA TODAY
OPPOSITE: Pope Francis’ address to Congress drew high praise from both sides of the isle. Rep. Debbie Dingell, a Democrat from Dearborn, Michigan, and also a Catholic, said in a statement: “He reminded me of the teachings the nuns instilled in me as a child: the distinction between rules and values, the difference between being served and the satisfaction of serving, and the importance of action. It was a day to celebrate, inspire and remember, and as a Catholic woman, one that I will hold in my heart and soul.”
TONY GENTILE / REUTERS
He warned against the erosion of the family. “I cannot hide my concern for the family, which is threatened, perhaps as never before, from within and without,” Francis said. “Fundamental relationships are being called into question, as is the very basis of marriage and the family. I can only reiterate the importance and, above all, the richness and the beauty of family life.”
The pope did not make any specific appeal on the topic of marriage and cautioned against fundamentalism.
“We must be especially attentive to every type of fundamentalism, whether religious or of any other kind,” he said. “A delicate balance is required to combat violence perpetrated in the name of a religion, an ideology or an economic system, while also safeguarding religious freedom, intellectual freedom and individual freedoms. But there is another temptation which we must especially guard against: the simplistic reductionism which sees only good or evil or, if you will, the righteous and sinners.”
After the speech, the pope made a brief stop in the halls of the Capitol to bless the 2-week-old daughter of one of Boehner’s staff members.
He then stepped onto a balcony of the Capitol and gave a brief blessing to a huge crowd gathered on the lawn who had heard the speech via video. Speaking in Spanish, the pope asked the crowd to pray for him and invited nonbelievers to “send good wishes my way.” Boehner, who said he had dreamed of meeting a pope for two decades, stood beside Francis and
On Feb. 17, 2016, Pope Francis entered the fairgrounds in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, to say Mass near the U.S.-Mexican border. Estimates pegged the crowd at more than 200,000 people. DAVID WALLACE
/ THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC
On the road again: 68 countries in 12 years
In his 12 years as pontiff, Pope Francis visited 68 countries during 47 visits aboard, according to the Vatican News. Spanning the globe from 2013-25:
• His first overseas trip — and his lone such trip in his first 16 months as pope — was to Brazil in July 2013 centered on World Youth Day at Rio de Janeiro.
• In 2014, he visited the Middle East in May, including meetings with Israeli and Palestine officials and in Jerusalem with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians. Later in the year, he went to South Korea, Albania, France and Turkey, showing the world that he would be the pope who would carry his message to the four corners of the Earth.
• In September 2015, he visited Cuba for four days before a six-day trip to the United States (stopping in Washington, New York and Philadelphia).
• That year, he also visited Sri Lanka and the Philippines (in January), Bosnia and Herzegovina (in June), Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay (in July), and Kenya, Uganda and Central African Republic (in November).
• He did not travel in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• He completed North America by going to Mexico in 2016 and Canada in 2022.
• His final trip came Dec. 15, 2024, when he traveled to Corsica, a French island in the Mediterranean Sea, for a religious conference attended by many cardinals and bishops who lived near the sea. A week prior, he had declined an invitation to the reopening of the Notre-Dame Cathedral of Paris, 5½ years after it sustained massive fire damage.
• One place Francis did not visit was Argentina. As archbishop of Buenos Aires, he often clashed with his homeland’s presidents. Observers speculated that Francis did not want to be a pawn of the left or the right in a highly polarized political climate. President Javier Milei, before taking office, called Francis “the representation of the Evil One on Earth” and “an imbecile who defends social justice.” Upon Francis’ death, the New York Times reported that when the possibility of returning to Argentina was raised in interviews, the pontiff frequently quipped: “I spent 76 years in Argentina. That’s enough, isn’t it?”
• Linda Bordoni of the Vatican News wrote that an Argentine trip was one “we were all waiting for but never happened.” She pointed out that Francis never returned home after traveling to Rome for the conclave in March 2013. Bordoni concluded: “The truth is, perhaps, he was at home wherever he went, every person was his brother and sister.”
In his words
“Every evening, make an ‘examination of conscience,’ like a prayer, to determine if it was ‘the Spirit of God or the spirit of the world’ that prompted us throughout the day.”
“None of us chooses the day that we die,” Neier said, “but what a way to end his life at this time when we celebrate the resurrection.”
Muriel Savoy Moloney, 94, of East Weymouth, Massachusetts, a lifelong Catholic who attended weekly Mass and watched Mass every day on television, said she appreciated that Francis “loved everybody.”
“He didn’t care if you were rich or poor, a believer or even an atheist,” Moloney said. “He believed that God made you, so you were worth loving. He had so much empathy for everyone, and I think he was born with that. ... Listening to him, you could believe he didn’t think anyone was evil and always felt there was room for anybody to change.”
Carl Sawejko of Swansea, Massachusetts, said Francis “wanted to be with the people.”
“He transcended religion,” said Sawejko, who grew up Catholic, becoming an altar boy and playing the organ once he could reach the pedals. “He really welcomed
everyone to the church.”
Wil Tyrrell, a former Franciscan who met the pontiff in New York City in 2015, said Francis’ Latin American roots “gave another face of the universal Catholic Church that was desperately needed.”
The pope, Tyrrell said, set an example by sitting down with Vice President JD Vance, whose policies ran counter to those of the pontiff when it came to Gaza and immigration, in one of his final meetings.
“It was nice to see that, but that’s Francis,” Tyrrell said. “There he is sitting with someone he probably disagrees with vehemently and he’s reconciling the moment.”
FOR ABUSE SURVIVORS, POPE’S DEATH MARKS ‘DIFFICULT DAY’
Others noted the pope’s complicated legacy. Sarah Pearson of The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, known as SNAP, said that April 21 was a “difficult day,” calling Francis’ legacy “a tragedy for survivors.”
LEFT: After Pope Francis’ death, a Mass was held at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit. JUNFU HAN / DETROIT FREE PRESS
OPPOSITE: The Dames of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem prayed during a diocesan memorial Mass for Pope Francis at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Nashville a week after his death. NICOLE HESTER / THE TENNESSEAN
In his words
“God is not indifferent to our world; he so loves it that he gave his son for our salvation.”
OPPOSITE: Archbishop Edward Weisenburger celebrated Mass for Pope Francis at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit. Four times in his homily for a service called “Mass of Suffrage,” Weisenburger mentioned a quote from Francis: “A little mercy makes the world less cold and more just.” Francis had appointed Weisenburger to lead the Archdiocese of Detroit in February 2025. “While a part of me is filled with sadness today,” the archbishop said at a news conference, “a part of me is also filled with joy for one whom I loved.”
JUNFU HAN / DETROIT FREE PRESS
“As praise pours in from around the world,” she said, “we are mourning all the lives that have been damaged by sexual abuse.”
As Archbishop Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Pearson said, Francis covered up cases of sexual abuse and had an opportunity “to atone for his actions” by enacting “a binding and universal zero tolerance law in the Catholic Church” that would remove known abusers from ministry.
“He failed to do this,” she said. “As a result, thousands of vulnerable people have been abused. This painful legacy cannot be ignored.”
CATHOLIC LEADERS MOURN END OF FRANCIS’ PAPACY
Former President Joe Biden, the nation’s second Catholic president, shared his thoughts about Francis in a post on X.
In January 2025, Biden awarded Francis the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction, the highest U.S. civilian honor.
“Pope Francis will be remembered as one of the most consequential leaders of our time and I am better for having known him,” wrote Biden, who often talked about how his Catholic faith helped him overcome the death of his first wife and their daughter in a 1972 car crash.
“As Pope, he was a loving pastor and challenging teacher who reached out to different faiths. He commanded us to fight for peace and protect our planet from a climate crisis. He advocated for the voiceless and powerless.
“He made all feel welcome and seen by the Church. He promoted equity and an end to poverty and suffering across the globe. And above all, he was a Pope for everyone. He was the People’s Pope — a light of faith, hope, and love.”
Francis also was mourned by church leaders across the country.
“He was a man of deep faith, profound humility, and unshakable hope — a servant whose tireless call to care for the poor and the marginalized will continue to inspire the Church for generations to come,” Cardinal Joseph Tobin, archbishop of Newark, said in a statement.
In Boston, Archbishop Richard Henning, who was appointed in 2024, said Francis’ legacy was “broad and deep.”
“In his ministry and across his writings he has continuously called us to deeper faith and to a more generous participation in the boundless compassion of God,” Henning said in a statement. “He has challenged us to turn away from selfish impulses and towards communion with others and respect for God’s creation.”
In Detroit, Archbishop Edward Weisenburger, who formerly led a diocese in Arizona bordering Mexico, said Francis repeatedly sought to humanize migrants.
“He drew the world’s attention to it,” Weisenburger said.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York, delivered a heartfelt tribute to Francis following the Gospel reading at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, referencing the Easter story of when women discovered Jesus’ empty tomb.
“Yes, we are sad,” Dolan said. “But we are also confident in the faith that we celebrated yesterday, Easter Sunday. ... We are filled with Easter joy. When we believers are a little lost and don’t know what to do, we always rely on prayer.”
In a statement, Dolan said he was honored to have participated in the conclave that elected Francis in 2013 and to have welcomed him to New York City in 2015.
“He touched us all with his simplicity,” Dolan said, “with his heart of a humble servant.”
— Dan Horn, Peter Kramer, Ashley Fontones, Margie Cullen, Katie Landeck, Caitlyn Kelleher, Courtney Subramanian, Lauren Villagran, N’dea Yancey-Bragg and Niraj Warikoo contributed.
