Pope Francis' death: Former ambassador to Vatican Joe Donnelly, from Long Island, remembers 'innate kindness'
Joe Donnelly meets with Pope Francis at the Vatican in 2022 to present his letter of credentials as U.S. ambassador to the Holy See. Credit: CNS / Vatican Media
When Pope Francis walked into a room, everything changed, said Long Island native Joe Donnelly, a former U.S. congressman and senator who served as the country’s ambassador to the Vatican.
“Everyone went quiet, except that they gave him a standing ovation,” Donnelly, 69, said in a phone interview in February. “When he walks in, he just makes everybody feel better about themselves.”
Donnelly, who was appointed by President Joe Biden to the position in October 2021 and held the title through 2024, recalled the “innate kindness” of Pope Francis, who died on Monday at 88.
“The legacy he has built is one of really caring about every single person,” Donnelly said.
And he also had a healthy sense of humor, Donnelly added.
“He would always laugh,” Donnelly said. “Every year, he would give an address to the diplomatic corps, and one country after another would bow down to him or kiss his hand.
"United States, in the alphabet, we’re pretty much in the back of the room, so I was always one of the last to come up," Donnelly said. "When he’d see me, he’d laugh and say, ‘Let’s shake!’ ”
Donnelly, who now lives in Indiana and represented that state in the U.S. Senate, grew up in Massapequa, and he visited Long Island as recently as last fall. “Every stop on the expressway, I know somebody,” he joked.
He went to St. Martin of Tours Catholic grammar school in Amityville before attending St. Pius X Preparatory Seminary in Uniondale — a high school for boys interested in the priesthood. While he didn’t pursue that route, he said his upbringing was key to his eventual ascension to his ambassador role.
“So many middle-class, working-class folks on Long Island are the backbone of every church, every parish, and that’s how I grew up,” Donnelly said.
He said the church, specifically St. Martin’s in Amityville, was “the center of our lives.”
Donnelly attended the University of Notre Dame for college and law school, and now teaches there, he said.
He credited the pope’s ability to surround himself with capable people during his tenure, saying that Pope Francis was "as smart as anyone I have ever met in my life, in his management of the Vatican and everything else.”
Donnelly specifically mentioned Francis’ appointment of Sister Raffaella Petrini as the president of the Vatican City State, part of a wider effort by the pope to put women in positions of importance within the church.
“The pope could spot talent, give talent the opportunity to grow and to contribute," Donnelly said.
Phyllis Zagano, a research associate at Hofstra University who has studied the role of women in the church, agreed that Pope Francis made strides “to open the church to accept women as equal partners in the work of evangelization,” starting with efforts to place women in the highest levels of church management.
Pope Francis rose to the challenge of the papacy and took his responsibility seriously, working to improve the Vatican’s financial position and put it on better footing, Donnelly said.
All the while, “he was able to look at every corner of the world and give them a hopeful message,” he said.
When Pope Francis walked into a room, everything changed, said Long Island native Joe Donnelly, a former U.S. congressman and senator who served as the country’s ambassador to the Vatican.
“Everyone went quiet, except that they gave him a standing ovation,” Donnelly, 69, said in a phone interview in February. “When he walks in, he just makes everybody feel better about themselves.”
Donnelly, who was appointed by President Joe Biden to the position in October 2021 and held the title through 2024, recalled the “innate kindness” of Pope Francis, who died on Monday at 88.
“The legacy he has built is one of really caring about every single person,” Donnelly said.
And he also had a healthy sense of humor, Donnelly added.
“He would always laugh,” Donnelly said. “Every year, he would give an address to the diplomatic corps, and one country after another would bow down to him or kiss his hand.
"United States, in the alphabet, we’re pretty much in the back of the room, so I was always one of the last to come up," Donnelly said. "When he’d see me, he’d laugh and say, ‘Let’s shake!’ ”
Donnelly, who now lives in Indiana and represented that state in the U.S. Senate, grew up in Massapequa, and he visited Long Island as recently as last fall. “Every stop on the expressway, I know somebody,” he joked.
He went to St. Martin of Tours Catholic grammar school in Amityville before attending St. Pius X Preparatory Seminary in Uniondale — a high school for boys interested in the priesthood. While he didn’t pursue that route, he said his upbringing was key to his eventual ascension to his ambassador role.
“So many middle-class, working-class folks on Long Island are the backbone of every church, every parish, and that’s how I grew up,” Donnelly said.
He said the church, specifically St. Martin’s in Amityville, was “the center of our lives.”
Donnelly attended the University of Notre Dame for college and law school, and now teaches there, he said.
He credited the pope’s ability to surround himself with capable people during his tenure, saying that Pope Francis was "as smart as anyone I have ever met in my life, in his management of the Vatican and everything else.”
Donnelly specifically mentioned Francis’ appointment of Sister Raffaella Petrini as the president of the Vatican City State, part of a wider effort by the pope to put women in positions of importance within the church.
“The pope could spot talent, give talent the opportunity to grow and to contribute," Donnelly said.
Phyllis Zagano, a research associate at Hofstra University who has studied the role of women in the church, agreed that Pope Francis made strides “to open the church to accept women as equal partners in the work of evangelization,” starting with efforts to place women in the highest levels of church management.
Pope Francis rose to the challenge of the papacy and took his responsibility seriously, working to improve the Vatican’s financial position and put it on better footing, Donnelly said.
All the while, “he was able to look at every corner of the world and give them a hopeful message,” he said.
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