Catholics around the world are mourning the death of Pope Francis, who died on Easter Monday at age 88. Among them is Speaker of the House Emerita Nancy Pelosi, who told NPR she met Pope Francis a handful of times.
In an interview with All Things Considered host Mary Louise Kelly, Pelosi recounted a visit in which he laughed at her.
Pelosi was waiting for him in his office and when he opened the door, "tears just flowed down my eyes … I was just overwhelmed by seeing him."
She was overcome with emotion, but met by his kindness.
"How he reacted is what really got me," she told NPR. "He just laughed and laughed and laughed that I was so tearful upon seeing him."
Pelosi praised Francis as "humble, courageous and confident."
"He would always say, 'Pray for me.' And I'd be like, 'Well wait a minute, your Holiness, you're supposed to be praying for the rest of us.'"
Today, Pelosi said, "I'm praying to him .... He's a saintly person. I'm praying to him."
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Interview highlights
Mary Louise Kelly: I remember when you and I spoke last summer, I was interviewing you about your memoir, your book, and you talked about growing up Catholic and how today your faith remains very deep. So, just say a little bit more about that — what Pope Francis' death means to you personally.
Nancy Pelosi: Well, his death means a great deal to me personally, but to many, many Catholics and people of faith throughout the world. So that's why it's such a day of sadness. I was at his installation on the Feast of Saint Joseph. Then I've had four opportunities to visit with him and speak with him, sometimes with my children, sometimes officially and always, always, always inspired by him. He would always say, "Pray for me." And I'd be like, "Well, wait a minute, your Holiness, you're supposed to be praying for the rest of us." So this sign of his humility: "Pray for me." And then his confidence and his courage to do all the wonderful things that he did was quite remarkable.
Kelly: And it sounds like you're praying for him today.
Pelosi: I'm praying to him today. I'm praying to him today.
Kelly: When was the last time you saw him or were able to speak with him?
Pelosi: The last time I saw him, we visited Saint Peter's, of course, on the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul. Then they called me outside and said, "We want you to wait here." And we just waited there. My husband and I, Paul and I. And then the door opened and in came His Holiness in a wheelchair at a distant door. But he stood up and walked over to where we were. And we had this beautiful chat and it was photographed and they put it out there publicly. That was the last time I saw him. Right before that, though, is when I had the private visit with him in his office. And they told me when we went there, these rules are very strict, they're 400 years old, so you must obey all the rules. So, I went to see him at his office. As soon as the door opened, I was facing him. He was standing on the other side of the door and tears just flowed down my eyes. I was just, just overwhelmed by seeing him. But how he reacted is what really got me is he just laughed and laughed and laughed that I was so tearful upon seeing him.
Kelly: He was, of course, a spiritual leader and also a political one. This was not a man afraid of a fight. I'm thinking, for example, about the positions he took in LGBTQ rights, transgender rights — at a moment when those are being walked back here in the U.S. What does it mean for the world to have lost his voice at this moment?
Pelosi: Well, we are going to have a new pope soon and hopefully he will respect the dignity of every person. I do want to, though, add that one of the things that he did is just enlarge the issue to God's creation. All of God's children were precious to him and God's creation — that would be our climate, our globe. And he wrote an encyclical about saving the planet as God's creation.
Kelly: So, understanding that today is a day of mourning for you, for many Catholics, a day to pay respect to Pope Francis. What qualities would you hope to see in his successor? What aspects of his legacy would you wish to see carried on?
Pelosi: Right now, it's hard to talk about what comes next when we're still mourning him. And actually in church yesterday, Christ is risen. Easter, the most glorious of all holidays. And we prayed for him in church yesterday, too. But we always pray for the pope in church. I do believe that whoever is chosen, the pope is the pope inspired by the Holy Ghost and accepts whatever that decision is.
Kelly: You're making me think. When I woke up this morning and heard the news, I thought, Oh, I wonder if he was hanging on for one more Easter. We'll never know. But do you think he was hanging on to celebrate one more Easter?
Pelosi: Well, it could be. You know, it's the most glorious feast in the church. Christ is risen is the basis of our faith. And I don't know if he had the choice to stay on or not, but thank God that he was able to and to drive through the crowd and wish Happy Easter to people and the joy that it gave to all the people in the square to see him, thank God that he was able to be able to stay alive for Easter. That was remarkable. And then this morning, when we heard the news, it was of course. Of course, of course. He stayed here one more day. So beautiful.
This story was adapted for the web by Karen Zamora.
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