A longtime acquaintance of the incoming president, New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan delivered an invocation at Donald Trump's first presidential inauguration.
(LifeSiteNews) -- New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan will be in Washington, D.C. on January 20 to deliver a prayer moments before incoming president Donald Trump takes the oath of office. Dolan told PIX11 Morning News last month that Trump asked him to appear at the event.
Dolan and Trump have known each other for many years. In 2017, His Excellency delivered an invocation at Trump’s inauguration. Dolan was one of six religious figures to give remarks at the ceremony.
Dolan also factored into Trump’s presidential campaign in 2024. Dolan’s Al Smith Dinner proved to be a turning point for Trump as Democratic nominee Kamala Harris skipped the event, a move that Dolan himself criticized. The decision likely contributed to Trump winning Catholic voters by a massive 15-point margin.
While being interviewed by Catholic Fox News anchor Maria Bartiromo at St. Patrick’s Cathedral last month, Dolan also said he has spoken privately with Trump about his beliefs.
“He can’t say that he was raised as a very zealous Christian,” Dolan said, “but he takes his Christian faith seriously.”
Dolan previously prayed at the 2024 Republican National Convention (RNC), where Trump told viewers that his surviving an assassination attempt was “only by the grace of Almighty God.”
Dolan has been a constant figure at political events since he was elevated to his current role by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009. Not only did he say a prayer at the 2020 RNC he also gave a closing benediction at the 2012 Republican Convention and prayed at that year’s Democratic National Convention.
Dissident Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago led a prayer at the Democratic National Convention in 2024 while Planned Parenthood offered mobile abortions just blocks away from the event, for which Cupich was widely criticized.
Trump’s inauguration will take place on Monday, January 20 in Washington, D.C., on Capitol Hill.
