President Donald Trump's Inauguration with 2 Bibles, a Special Hymn, a Blessing from Cardinal Dolan and an Appeal to "Pray" - FULL TEXT
President Donald Trump was sworn in for a second, nonconsecutive term in the White House January 20, 2025 becoming the United States' 47th president four years after he left office.
The oath of office was administered by Chief Justice John Roberts, and President Trump pledged to “preserve, protect and defend” the Constitution, as that document requires.
JD Vance, previously Ohio’s senator, also took the oath of office, becoming the nation’s second Catholic vice president. Justice Brett Kavanaugh administered his oath.
The inauguration ceremony was held indoors amid freezing temperatures in the nation’s capital, occurring in the Capitol Rotunda.
President Trump, during his inauguration speech, mentioned God four times, and said: "Those who wish to stop our cause have tried to take my freedom and indeed to take my life just a few months ago. In a beautiful Pennsylvania field, an assassin’s bullet ripped through my ear, but I felt then and believe, even more so now, that my life was saved for a reason. I was saved by God to make America great again."
An opening prayer was presided by Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, who noted the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, whose federal holiday is observed Jan. 20, “who warned without God our efforts turned to ashes.”
An opening prayer was presided by Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, who noted the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, whose federal holiday is observed Jan. 20, “who warned without God our efforts turned to ashes.”
Cardinal Dolan prayed alongside Franklin Graham, son of the deceased Baptist evangelist Billy Graham.
During the inauguration ceremony, attendees have noted the playing of hymns, including 'Great is Thy Faithfulness', in the rotunda. FULL TEXT of Cardinal Dolan:
“Be still and know that I am God, supreme among the nations, supreme on the earth. Let us pray: remembering General George Washington on his knees at Valley Forge. Recalling Abraham Lincoln at his second inaugural, ‘with malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right.’ Remembering General George Patton’s instructions to his soldiers as they began the Battle of the Bulge eight decades ago: ‘Pray. Pray when fighting, pray alone, pray with others, pray by night, pray by day.’ Observing the birthday of the Rev. Martin Luther King who warned, ‘Without God, our efforts turn to ashes.’ We, blessed citizens of this one nation under God, humbled by our claim that ‘in God we trust,’ gather on this Inauguration Day to pray. For our President Donald J. Trump, his family, his advisors, his cabinet, his aspirations, his vice president. For the Lord’s blessings upon Joseph Biden. For our men and women in uniform. For each other, whose hopes are stoked this new year, this Inauguration Day. We cannot err in relying upon that prayer from the Bible, upon which our president will soon place his hand in oath as we make our own supplications of King Solomon for wisdom, as he began his governance.
“‘God of our fathers in your wisdom you sent man to govern your creatures, to govern in holiness and justice, to render justice with integrity. Give our leader wisdom for he is your servant, aware of his own weakness and brevity of life. If wisdom, which comes from you be not with him, he shall be held in no esteem. Send wisdom from heaven that she may be with him, that he may know your designs. Please, God bless America. Please, mend her every flaw. You are the God in whom we trust who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.”
“Be still and know that I am God, supreme among the nations, supreme on the earth. Let us pray: remembering General George Washington on his knees at Valley Forge. Recalling Abraham Lincoln at his second inaugural, ‘with malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right.’ Remembering General George Patton’s instructions to his soldiers as they began the Battle of the Bulge eight decades ago: ‘Pray. Pray when fighting, pray alone, pray with others, pray by night, pray by day.’ Observing the birthday of the Rev. Martin Luther King who warned, ‘Without God, our efforts turn to ashes.’ We, blessed citizens of this one nation under God, humbled by our claim that ‘in God we trust,’ gather on this Inauguration Day to pray. For our President Donald J. Trump, his family, his advisors, his cabinet, his aspirations, his vice president. For the Lord’s blessings upon Joseph Biden. For our men and women in uniform. For each other, whose hopes are stoked this new year, this Inauguration Day. We cannot err in relying upon that prayer from the Bible, upon which our president will soon place his hand in oath as we make our own supplications of King Solomon for wisdom, as he began his governance.
“‘God of our fathers in your wisdom you sent man to govern your creatures, to govern in holiness and justice, to render justice with integrity. Give our leader wisdom for he is your servant, aware of his own weakness and brevity of life. If wisdom, which comes from you be not with him, he shall be held in no esteem. Send wisdom from heaven that she may be with him, that he may know your designs. Please, God bless America. Please, mend her every flaw. You are the God in whom we trust who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.”
BIBLES Used while taking the Oath
Trump’s personal Bible, was held by First Lady Melania Trump held while Trump took the oath of office, will be added to the set of U.S. presidential inauguration Bibles currently on display at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. Some noted that Trump did not place his hand on the bibles, like he did in 2017, however, it is not required by the constitution.
The bible was gifted to him in 1955 in honor of his Sunday Church Primary School graduation, it is a 1953 Revised Standard Version, according to the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee.
Trump was also sworn in with the revered Lincoln Bible, which he also used during his 2017 inauguration.
Vice President JD Vance was sworn in using a family Bible that belonged to his maternal great-grandmother, which had been given to him in 2003 on the day he left home for the Marine Corps.
In a message to Trump, Pope Francis expressed “the assurance of my prayers that Almighty God will grant you wisdom, strength, and protection in the exercise of your high duties.”
“Inspired by your nation’s ideals of being a land of opportunity and welcome for all, it is my hope that under your leadership the American people will prosper and always strive to build a more just society, where there is no room for hatred, discrimination or exclusion,” Pope Francis wrote, adding, “I also ask God to guide your efforts in promoting peace and reconciliation among peoples.”
Sources: OSV News The bible was gifted to him in 1955 in honor of his Sunday Church Primary School graduation, it is a 1953 Revised Standard Version, according to the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee.
Trump was also sworn in with the revered Lincoln Bible, which he also used during his 2017 inauguration.
Vice President JD Vance was sworn in using a family Bible that belonged to his maternal great-grandmother, which had been given to him in 2003 on the day he left home for the Marine Corps.
In a message to Trump, Pope Francis expressed “the assurance of my prayers that Almighty God will grant you wisdom, strength, and protection in the exercise of your high duties.”
“Inspired by your nation’s ideals of being a land of opportunity and welcome for all, it is my hope that under your leadership the American people will prosper and always strive to build a more just society, where there is no room for hatred, discrimination or exclusion,” Pope Francis wrote, adding, “I also ask God to guide your efforts in promoting peace and reconciliation among peoples.”
https://thegoodnewsroom.org/cardinal-timothy-dolan-leads-invocation-at-presidential-inauguration/
https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/trump-inauguration-speech-2025-address-full-transcript-rcna188365
https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/trump-inauguration-speech-2025-address-full-transcript-rcna188365
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