New York’s top Democrats, Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams, issued kind words for Pope Francis on behalf of the Catholics living in the city and state, mourning the loss of the 88-year-old Holy Father.

Both politicians made previous trips to Rome and spent time with him.

“I did want to also acknowledge that, as a Roman Catholic, I join billions across the globe as we mourn the passing of a true spiritual leader,” Hochul said on Monday during an unrelated press conference in Rochester.  

With over 7 million Catholics living across the state, according to an estimate by the New York State Catholic Conference, last year, the governor used one of her rare opportunities to travel abroad to pay a visit to Pope Francis.

“My recollection of meeting Pope Francis as a man of great humility, but also [the] love of people,” she continued.

In May 2024, Hochul spoke at a climate change summit in Rome, Italy, organized by the Vatican, and then met the Holy Father face to face.

She described the special meeting Monday, after learning of the pope’s passing.  

“I’m grateful for the special blessing he gave my husband and I on the anniversary of our wedding, 40 years, when I met him in person last year,” Hochul recalled.

Growing up as the daughter of Irish Catholic immigrants in Buffalo, Hochul often talks about her parents’ compassion for the poor and downtrodden describing their values to that of Francis.

“He made a comment that struck me He said, ‘God does not abandon any of his children,’” she said. “And that means he was fighting for the marginalized members of the LGBTQ+ community, migrants, people who are impoverished, people who are in prison. Those were the ones that he gave God’s compassion to. That’s how I was raised as a Catholic, as a social justice Catholic.”

Meanwhile, Adams shared his own separate audience with his Holiness, about a week before the governor last May.

“As someone deeply connected to my faith and who represents a city of millions of Catholics, my visit to the Vatican to meet with and hear directly from Pope Francis last year was one of the most sacred and special moments of my life,” he reflected Monday in a statement. “Pope Francis led with kindness, grace, and faith as he helped build a better world and unite all people, regardless of their background. His decades of spreading peace and love will forever be remembered.”

But when asked for comment in person on Monday by NY1, he gave no reply.

Christian, but not Catholic, Adams has publicly recalled he knew he’d head City Hall long before he won the mayoralty because God told him so.

Adams recently began sporting an “In God We Trust” t-shirt in multiple languages, in the wake of his federal criminal corruption case’s dismissal.