CNA Staff, Jan 21, 2025 / 15:00 pm
Numerous notable Catholic celebrities and public figures attended festivities surrounding Donald Trump’s swearing-in as the 47th president of the United States on Monday.
Trump has made headlines by choosing several Catholics to serve in his Cabinet and other parts of his administration, most prominently among them with the selection of Vice President JD Vance.
Among the other Catholics whom Trump has chosen for his Cabinet are environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr., three-term Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, and former Wisconsin Rep. Sean Duffy.
Over several days in Washington, including several inaugural balls that took place throughout the weekend, there were numerous well-known Catholic figures and celebrities in attendance showing their support for the new president.
Arguably the most notable Catholic name in attendance was Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York, who led the opening prayer at Monday’s inauguration.
In his prayer, Dolan called on Americans to pray that the incoming administration be guided by and aligned with the will of God and for the new president to be instilled with wisdom.
“We, blessed citizens of this one nation under God, humbled by our claim that in God we trust, gather indeed this Inauguration Day to pray for our president Donald J. Trump, his family, his advisers, his Cabinet, his aspirations, his vice president,” Dolan prayed.
“Please, God, bless America. You are the God in whom we trust, who lives and reigns forever and ever, amen,” he concluded.
Brooklyn priest Father Francis Mann delivered the closing benediction at the inauguration.
The retired diocesan priest, who was ordained in 1979, began a friendship with the president after he came across the grave sites of Trump’s parents in a Queens cemetery. The site was overgrown and the priest felt called to tidy it up. After Trump saw a photo of the grave site, he personally called Mann to thank him. The two have maintained regular contact for years.
The priest called upon Trump’s parents, Fred and Mary, during his benediction.
“We lift our hearts in gratitude for the beloved parents of President Trump. Without Mary and Fred Trump this day would never be the miracle that has just begun,” Mann said. “From their place in heaven may they shield their son from all harm by their loving protection and give him the strength to guide our nation along the path that will make America great again.”
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Former ESPN “SportsCenter” co-host Sage Steele also traveled to the nation’s capitol for the inauguration. Steele was taken off the air and removed from several high-profile assignments for 10 days in October 2021 after criticizing ESPN/Disney’s vaccine mandate during the COVID-19 pandemic. She sued the network and its parent company in 2022 for violating her free speech rights and after successfully settling her case, she left the company after working there for 16 years.
“I’ve said this a lot recently — I wouldn’t be standing today without my faith, which has become stronger than ever before,” Steele said in an interview with “EWTN News Nightly” in September 2023.
Several Catholic media personalities also made an appearance at Turning Point’s Inaugural-Eve Ball on Jan. 19, including political commentator, author, and YouTuber Michael Knowles; podcast host Matt Walsh; and Gen Z content creator Isabel Brown, who also recently partnered with the Catholic prayer app Hallow for the launch of a new young adults devotional.
Christine Yeargin, a Catholic mother, speaker, and founder of Be Their Village, a digital community that connects women in unplanned pregnancies to resources in their area and helps complete baby registries for women who choose life, also attended Turning Point’s Inaugural-Eve Ball.
Although not a Catholic himself, renowned psychologist and author Jordan Peterson attended the Turning Point ball with his daughter Mikhaila. Peterson’s wife, Tammy, has become a well-known name among Catholics for her powerful story of conversion to Catholicism after her battle with a rare form of cancer.
In an interview with EWTN News Correspondent Colm Flynn, Peterson called his wife’s entry into the Catholic Church a “miraculous thing to see.”
Francesca is the Social Media Manager for Catholic News Agency. She received her degree in Communications with an emphasis in Digital Media from the University of Colorado – Denver.
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