Who is Kielce Gussie, the American journalist who did the first reading at Pope Francis’ funeral

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 funeral Mass at St. Peter’s Square, where she did the first reading.

“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,” she told CBS News ahead of the funeral. “Also, for me, it’s such a big way to say thank you to Pope Francis.”

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.

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’Osservatore Romano.

She met Pope Francis twice before his death: the first time, he blessed her rosary, and the second time, on her birthday.

“In those moments, I didn’t see him as the head of the Catholic Church, I saw him as a grandfather,” she said. “And so for me, I will remember him as someone who really cared for each person that he met.”

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.

contributed to this report.