DIOCESE OF BROOKLYN — A RETIRED BROOKLYN PRIEST WILL GIVE THE CLOSING BENEDICTION at President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday, Jan. 20, which because of dangerously-frigid weather will be held indoors — in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda — for the first time since 1985. Father Frank Mann, a native of this borough, priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn since his 1979 ordination, and author, struck up a surprise friendship with Mr. Trump over his family’s gravesite in Queens, which is part of the diocese. Fr. Mann had been walking through and noticed that the gravesite needed pruning. He took the initiative and started removing the weeds, and decorated the plot with floral arrangements, sending photos to Trump afterward, according to reports in The Tablet diocesan newspaper and the Catholic News Agency. Fr. Mann then heard from Donald Trump out of the blue, surprised and curious as to why the priest would do this. Later, when Father Mann’s children’s book, “The Wounded Butterfly,” was published, Mr. Trump promoted it on Truth Social. The two kept in touch and frequently got together in person. Fr. Mann told The Tablet this week, “Being asked to offer the closing benediction is such an indescribable honor. It’s taken me longer than I thought to process having been chosen to be such a significant part of the inauguration’s moment in history.”
Trump sought Fr. Mann’s advice on how to win the Catholic vote during the 2024 campaign, reports the Catholic News Agency, and wound up winning 54% of the Catholic vote, the Tablet reported, using figures from the Associated Press.
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