American Kielce Gussie does 1st reading at Pope Francis' funeral

American Kielce Gussie, who works as a journalist at Vatican News, did the first reading in English — several verses from the Acts of the Apostles — at the funeral of Pope Francis. Image via ABC News.

(ROME) — American Kielce Gussie, who works as a journalist at Vatican News, did the first reading in English — several verses from the Acts of the Apostles — at the funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday.

Gussie, originally from Florida, completed her undergraduate degree in theology at Mount St. Mary’s University.

The university featured her in an article in March 2019, saying that she planned on incorporating her faith with media.

“While in Rome, Gussie will pursue an internship with either EWTN or Catholic Bytes,” Mount St. Mary’s University said in 2019. “After completing her Licentiate, she hopes to continue working in Rome with a Catholic media company. Her goal is to incorporate her Catholic faith with media directed toward youth evangelization. Assistant Professor of Communication Mary Catherine Kennedy, Ph.D., is confident that Gussie will succeed. ‘Kielce is a go-getter. She came to the Mount with an idea of what she wanted to pursue after graduation,’ Kennedy said. She has paired her communication classes with her theology classes to pursue work in the Church. Her ambition and desire to serve others is spectacular, and I expect her to do well in her graduate studies in Rome.'”