(21 Apr 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Washington DC – 21 April 2025
1. Various exteriors of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
2. Rector of he Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Monsignor Walter Rossi walking towards press
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Monsignor Walter Rossi, Rector of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception:
"Without question, we all woke up this morning to a great shock. Yesterday, the Holy Father was going through Saint Peter’s Square. He was on the balcony of Saint Peter’s, giving the orbi at four be blessing. And this morning we wake up to the Holy Father having died. When anyone dies, it’s a great shock. Whenever anyone dies, sadness. When someone dies who is close to you, it’s even more sad. And for the church, the Holy Father is our father. That’s what we call him Holy Father, not just the Pope."
4. Cutaway of Basilica
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Monsignor Walter Rossi, Rector of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception:
"Well, Easter is a central celebration of our faith. And so it is the celebration of the church here. Pope Francis was a determined man, and in my mind, I think he was determined to see Easter and to be in Saint Peter’s Square and to give that final blessing."
6. Cutaway of cross on top of Basilica
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Monsignor Walter Rossi, Rector of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception:
"I met the Pope shortly after he was elected in Rome at a meeting with, several other people. And, of course, the Holy Father was here in 2015 to canonize Saint Junipero Serra. And so at that point, I had spent a lot of time with them because I was with them from the moment he arrived, at the moment he left. And the Holy Father always has a ready smile. He’s always welcoming and he’s always paying attention to you as he talks to you. As a matter of fact, when we were going up in the elevator to enter the upper church before the mass with Cardinal World and the Holy Father saw the size of the shrine, he said to me, I bet it cost a lot to run this place. So he’s also very practical."
8. Cutaway of black bunting draped in front of Basilica
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Monsignor Walter Rossi, Rector of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception:
"I think in general, the Pope’s legacy is that he is the pope of the poor, the pope of the marginalized, underprivileged. He is also what I’m going to call a reformer pope, because he made a lot of changes to the way the Vatican is running, the way the church is run. And I think we also say he is the pope of the people and also the pope of great surprises, just like his death. It was a great surprise."
10. Cutaway of Basilica
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Monsignor Walter Rossi, Rector of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception:
"We we have been very fortunate to have had three popes here at Mary Shrine. John Paul, the second one at the 16th, and Pope Francis. It is a great privilege, but it also speaks to the importance of this National Front, that it’s not just any of the church. All churches are important, but this is the natural church of the United States. It is the preeminent. We are enshrined in the United States, and it’s the largest Catholic church in North America. So it’s important for us to have the Holy Father here. And it also speaks of the importance this church plays for the church in United States."
12. Cutaway of Basilica
14. Rossi walking away
STORYLINE:
Pope Francis died Monday at age 88.
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