Pope Francis' Funeral: American Journalist Kielce Gussie Gives the First Reading at Service in St. Peter's Square
An American journalist is making headlines after being chosen to give the first reading at Pope Francis' funeral.
Kielce Gussie gave the first reading at the funeral mass held for Pope Francis at St. Peter's Square in Rome on Saturday, April 26, following his death on April 21.
She read a passage from the Acts of the Apostles, the fifth book of the New Testament, telling the story of the founding of the Christian Church, at the podium in Francis' honor. The 28-year-old is a journalist at Vatican News in Rome and has lived in Italy's capital since 2019, CBS News reported.
Gussie learned she would be part of the funeral just three days before the service on April 23, Inside Edition's Deborah Norville shared on her Instagram. Gussie is from Florida and moved to Maryland to attend college before relocating to Rome, according to Norville.
Sharing her reaction to speaking at the service, Gussie said, "My initial thought was 'Oh my god' but then, after I thought 'this is such a huge honor,' to be a part of this momentous occasion. Also, for me, it's such a big way to say thank you to Pope Francis," per CBS News.
Related: Pope Francis Funeral Live Updates: Thousands Gather to Mourn with Trump, Prince William and More
Gussie joined Vatican News just seven months before Francis' funeral, according to her LinkedIn page.
She is a devout Catholic and has met the pope twice, including one time on her birthday in a special personal encounter which remains a fond memory of hers, CBS News reported.
Gussie told the outlet of their meeting, 'I didn't see him as the head of the Catholic Church, I saw him as a grandfather. And so for me, I will remember him as someone who really cared for each person that he met."
Related: Pope Francis' Coffin Sealed in Private Ceremony After 250,000 Mourners Paid Their Respects
Gussie previously worked as a journalist for Rome Reports TV News Agency for two years and as a production assistant at EWTN a year prior in 2020.
Before moving to Rome, she attended Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg, Md., where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in theology.
Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Over 250,000 people came to Rome to show their respects at Pope Francis' funeral on April 26, including world leaders such as President Donald Trump, Joe and Jill Biden and Prince William.
According to the Vatican, Pope Francis died of a cerebral stroke that caused a coma and irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse on April 21.
The pontiff was also affected by a "previous episode of acute respiratory failure in bilateral multimicrobial pneumonia, multiple bronchiectasis, arterial hypertension and type II diabetes."
Read the original article on People
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Quipu: The Inca's Mysterious Recording Device
Long before Spanish colonization, the indigenous people of Peru kept track of important dates and numbers, and perhaps even stories, using a mysterious coding system of strings and knots called a quipu. When the Spanish invaded, they decided these bundles of strings and knots were idolatrous and pagan, in opposition to the Catholic Church. They burned them, hoping to quell any thought of resistance. Quipu means knot in Quechua, the dominant indigenous language in the region. You might mistake a quipu for a brightly colored necklace or headdress, but it is a communication device. Unlike their Mayan and Aztec counterparts, the Incas had no written language. They used quipu instead. Quipus consist of a series of colored, knotted cords made from cotton, wool, or other animal fibers. The knots and their placement on the cords represented numerical values. In some cases, it carried other information, such as dates or records of events. The use of the quipu dates back to 2500 BCE, long before the Inca Empire emerged. We still don't know how it originated. Deciphering quipus is tough. Its purpose and meaning can change depending on the length of the cord, the number of knots, the color, the way the cords are twisted and woven, the material, and the arrangement. While some historians think they were used almost exclusively to communicate numbers, others believe they were capable of storytelling and poetry. Certainly, the main purpose of the quipu was to track and manage the data of populations, goods, resources, and taxes. It was the administrative tool of the empire. Each knot on the cord had a specific value depending on its position, with different knot types (such as single knots, long knots, or figure-eight knots) representing different values. The Incas used the decimal system and knots to record 1s, 10s, 100s, 1000s, and so on. The colors of the cords could indicate categories like resources, people, or geographical locations. For example, red represented warriors or war, white represented silver, and yellow symbolized gold. The quipus were managed by quipucamayocs, which means "quipu authority." These administrators were the record keepers, accountants, bookkeepers, mathematicians, census takers, and historians of the empire. The smooth running of the empire rested almost entirely on their shoulders. The Incas had a complex road network called the Qhapaq Ñan. All these roads led to the capital of Cusco. Endurance runners called chasquis transported quipus along these roads, resting or passing them to other runners in supply stations called tambos posted every few kilometers. Messengers could quickly carry news of an Incan victory, the death of an emperor, or details of an enemy attack from province to province. After smallpox had killed the ruler Huayna Capac, his sons, Atahualpa and Huascar, battled for the throne. Atahualpa triumphed and killed his brother. To further legitimize his ascension, Atahualpa had all records destroyed. This meant burning quipus that recorded anything to do with his brother. Atahualpa even killed the quipucamayocs. "[It was] a total renewal, what the Incas called a pachakuti or a turning over of time and space," historian Mark Cartwright wrote. Later, a Spanish governor of Peru, Vaca de Castro, tried to find quipucamayocs to teach him about the land. Eventually, he came across two who had survived the purge. "They found them wandering in the mountains, terrorized by the tyrants of the past," according to historian John A. Yeakel. Though the Spanish destroyed many quipus, some chose to study them. Inca Garcilaso de la Vega was the son of a conquistador and an Incan prince, and acted as an intermediary between the two peoples. He learned about the quipu as part of his upbringing and wrote extensively about them: When my father's Indians came to town on Midsummer's Day to pay their tribute, they brought me the quipus; and the curacas [local leaders] asked my mother to take note of their stories, for they mistrusted the Spaniards, and feared that they would not understand them. I was able to reassure them by re-reading what I had noted down under their dictation. Likewise, a rogue Jesuit priest named Blas Valera advocated for learning from the quipus. Also half Spanish and half Inca, Valera proclaimed that the Incas were the real rulers of Peru. He died under house arrest in 1597. In 2015, anthropologist Sabine Hyland got a call from the remote Andean village of San Juan de Collata. This little village held some of the last remaining quipus. Villagers granted Hyland access to two quipus from the 18th century. They told her that for years, guarding the quipus was a coming-of-age ritual for local adolescent boys. After seeing one of Hyland's documentaries, the village elders had reached out, hoping she would visit. "Over the next couple days, we would learn that these multicolored quipus, each of which is just over two feet long, were narrative epistles created by local chiefs during a time of war in the 18th century," Hyland wrote. The elders recounted the story of a failed rebellion against the Spanish. A leader, betrayed by his associates, was imprisoned and eventually executed. He had used the quipu to tell his countrymen that he was the ruling Inca Emperor. Not far from the village of San Juan de Collata, Hyland was invited by a local schoolteacher to examine a hybrid quipu. The hybrid was set on a wooden board containing a ledger of names and multicolored quipu threads. "The board bears the names of villagers, while the quipu cord associated with each name indicates the contribution of labor and/or goods that the individual was expected to provide in a community ceremony," Hyland wrote. Much to Hyland's astonishment, quipus were used in the village until the 1940s for communal, administrative, and record-keeping purposes.
CBS News
7 hours ago
- CBS News
Diocese of Greensburg announces the death of Bishop Emeritus Lawrence Brandt
The Diocese of Greensburg announced on Sunday morning that the fourth bishop in its history, Bishop Emeritus Lawrence E. Brandt, has died. He was 86 years old. Monsignor Brandt was named the fourth bishop in the history of the diocese on January 2, 2004, by Pope John Paul II. He was installed in the Blessed Sacrament Cathedral on March 4, 2004. "It was Bishop Brandt who asked me to study Canon Law, and with his support, asked me to assist him as an Episcopal Master of Ceremonies and then as Vicar General for our Diocese," said the current Diocese of Greensburg Bishop, Larry J. Kulick. "He was incredibly disciplined, but that only fostered his spirituality and his ability to leave the Diocese in good order, both spiritually and financially." Brandt is credited with leading the Diocese of Greensburg through a series of changes, including bolstering the finances, as well as addressing the declining number of Catholics. In 2005, he began a strategic plan for the diocese, and part of it was holding listening sessions that included 9,000 parishioners. It ultimately led to the closing of 16 parishes and the partnering of 14 parishes. Years later, in 2013, two more parishes were closed, and six more merged to become what is now known as the St. Francis of Assisi Parish. In doing so, he offered "Masses of Welcome and Remembrance" to all the affected parishes in an effort to welcome parishioners to new parishes and address the deep sense of loss they might have been feeling due to losing parishes they long identified with. Brandt retired from the diocese on July 13, 2015. The diocese said that funeral arrangements will be announced.
CNBC
7 hours ago
- CNBC
I'm a psychologist who studies couples: Here's what people fight about the most in relationships—and No. 1 will surprise you
Even the happiest couples encounter conflict. But what they fight about reveals a lot about what's missing in the relationship. As a psychologist who studies couples, I've found that there are many similar topics that come up again and again. And the first step to resolving the conflicts is to know what those topics are. According to a YouGov poll of 1,000 American adults, and based on my research, here are the most common reasons couples fight — and the psychology behind each one. A sour tone or attitude — a slightly raised voice, a sarcastic comment, an eye-roll mid-conversation — is by far the most common reason couples fight. To the person exhibiting it, it might not seem like a big deal. But to the partner on the receiving end, it hits a direct nerve because it signals contempt. In marital research, contempt is one of the most reliable predictors of divorce. Unlike overt criticism or stonewalling (shutting down emotionally), contempt disguises itself with non-verbal gestures and body language. How to move past it: Resist the impulse to strike back. Fighting fire with fire never works, so try naming the effect instead: "That felt condescending. Can we try again?" This gives your partner the chance to course-correct, and it doesn't instantly escalate things. If you're the one delivering the tone, check in with yourself before saying anything more. Are you feeling unheard? Frustrated? Overwhelmed? Pinpointing what's fueling the contempt is the first step to expressing yourself without hurting the relationship. Arguments about family relations often reflect fundamental misalignments and unmet needs. One partner might feel unsupported or sidelined, especially if their spouse seems to default to defending their side of the family. In situations involving children, arguments usually boil down to value clashes — where each partner feels like their core parenting beliefs are being dismissed. Neither partner is "right" or "wrong" in these scenarios. In fact, they're more than likely seeking the exact same thing: someone who's on their side. How to move past it: A good place to start is to reassure one another. For example: "I love my family, but you're still my partner. How can we find a solution that meets both of our needs and values?" Then talk about your limits as a team: what to do when a line is crossed, or how to show solidarity in front of others (even when you disagree privately). People often assume that arguments about chores are about the chores themselves — the dishes left in the sink, the laundry piling up, the trash that never gets taken out. But if that were true, these issues could be quickly fixed with a simple chore chart. Rather, the real problem is the uneven distribution of labor. According to research, one partner in a relationship usually shoulders the bulk of domestic work. But they aren't just folding the clothes and cooking the meals, they're also managing appointments, coordinating the bills and keeping mental tabs on everyone's well-being but their own. This "invisible load" goes largely unacknowledged, and that lack of recognition is usually where the fight starts. How to move past it: This dynamic can often be changed if the load is named out loud. Even just saying, "I didn't realize how much you were holding, thank you," gives your partner the acknowledgement they've been needing to hear. From there, work together to redistribute tasks in a way that feels sustainable. Fairness won't look like a 50/50 split every day, but it should feel like something you both have a hand in. This is one of the trickiest arguments to navigate. In many cases, by the time couples are arguing about they talk to each other, the original issue has likely already been lost in translation. For example, one partner is upset about an unfair distribution of chores, or they're frustrated with how their in-laws treat them. But when these concerns are brought up, research shows they can quickly go off the rails when the other engages with them ineffectively — or with hostility. If the conversation is met with defensiveness, criticism or stonewalling, the fight will shift its focus from the initial issue. Instead, it becomes a matter of how poorly the conversation is going. How to move past it: One simple strategy successful couples use is the "five second rule": They have a designated word or phrase that signals: "We're spiraling, let's take a time-out." This gives a much-needed pause, without the negative effects of storming out. When you return to the conversation, try to see eye-to-eye before continuing to air out your grievances: "I want to understand why you're upset, and I want you to understand the same for me. You share your side, then I'll share mine."
