Monday morning, the world watched the passing of the presidential torch from Joe Biden to Donald Trump, in a ceremony that was bookended by Catholic prayers. First up was Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, Archbishop of New York, who opened the inauguration with the invocation. Then the ceremony was closed by Fr. Francis Mann of the Diocese of Brooklyn.
Cardinal Dolan opened his prayer by recalling the faith of presidents past, from General George Washington kneeling in prayer at Valley Forge, to President Lincoln’s words from his second inaugural: “With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right …”
He also acknowledged Marin Luther King Jr. – whose life work is also celebrated annually on the third Monday in January – and quoted the Civil Rights leader on faith: “Without God all our efforts turn to ashes.”
Noting that the US is “one nation under God,” which holds the national motto “in God we trust,” Cardinal Dolan called all attending the inauguration to pray for the incoming president, his family and cabinet, as well as for outgoing president, Joe Biden. He then prayed:
“God of our fathers, in your wisdom you set man to govern your creatures, to govern in holiness and justice, to render justice with integrity. Give our leader wisdom for he is your servant aware of his own weakness and brevity of life. If wisdom comes not from you, be not with him. He shall be held with no esteem. Send wisdom from the heavens so that she may be with him, that he may know your designs. Please, God, bless America. Please mend her every flaw. You are the God in whom we trust, who lives and reigns forever and ever, Amen.”
Following the meat and potatoes of the inauguration, in which Donald Trump was formally sworn into office, a Catholic priest once again took the podium for the benediction. This was Fr. Francis Mann, from the Diocese of Brooklyn, who struck up an unlikely friendship with President Trump after a social media post showed that he maintained the Trump family burial plot.
Fr. Mann called the inauguration a “sacred” and “pivotal” moment in American history. He expressed the nation’s gratitude to God for the many blessings which have been bestowed upon the US: freedom we cherish, the strength of our communities, and the resilience of our spirit. He prayed that the nation’s leaders be given the grace to lead with compassion and integrity, as well as to be beacons of hope in times of uncertainty.
He prayed that the people can come together as one nation, as “together we can overcome any adversity.”
“As we stand witness to this inauguration, we hold fast to this faith, to our faith in the goodness of each of us and the possibility of change. We trust that with your guidance oh God, our nation can move forward to a future filled with promise, prosperity, and understanding.”
