Mayor Eric Adams recalled the life and impact of Pope Francis, whom he met at the Vatican less than a year ago.

“Nothing personified the spirit of taking care of those who are the least among us… more than the life of the Pope. He calmly displayed a humble approach to life. When I met him in the Vatican last year, I asked about the hate that we are seeing across our country and across the globe, and he acknowledged the desire to pray and it impacted me deeply when we lost him,” Adams said in a one-on-one Zoom interview with The Good Newsroom on Friday, April 25.

Mayor Adams attended a memorial Mass for the Pope at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on April 22, a day after Pope Francis died at the Vatican. That Mass was celebrated by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, hours before he departed for the Pope’s funeral in Rome.

During the Pope’s visit to New York City in 2015, Adams was then serving as Brooklyn Borough President. While Pope Francis only visited sites in Manhattan, Adams met the Pope for the first time during the arrival ceremony.

“I was at the festivities when he landed at Kennedy Airport as part of the group that greeted him. There was a large number of people who did not have the opportunity to have a personal interaction. But when he came off the helicopter, we were there to greet him, and he moved past many of the greeters. That was really the first time I had an interaction with him, and I was fortunate enough to have a more personal interaction as the mayor,” Adams said.

In 2024, Adams met Pope Francis during an audience at the Vatican, and he was able to make a direct request. “I asked him to pray for peace, to pray to end some of the hatred we have seen, some of the antisemitism, Islamophobia, the hatred that we’re seeing across the entire globe,” he said.

Adams, who identifies as Christian, will remember Pope Francis as a communicator for the faith. “I remember how he made me feel as though he was communicating directly to me and not just going through the motions. And … at that time, global and national peace was important to me, and I felt he heard me, and he was present in our interaction, and I will always remember that.”

Mayor Adams, a Democrat, is in the first year of his first term. He has announced he will run for re-election as an independent candidate this fall.

— This interview was edited for clarity and length.