As Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York waited for Pope Francis in Clementine Hall, an ornate room with marble walls and frescoed ceilings in the Vatican’s papal apartments, her thoughts drifted to her father.
Ms. Hochul was last in Rome seven years ago with her father, who was celebrating his 80th birthday. He passed away suddenly in October, while the governor was on another diplomatic trip abroad, visiting Israel. And now, as she sat in the Vatican, she recalled her upbringing as a “social justice Catholic,” and how it shaped her political journey.
“It was a profound experience for me, sitting there reflecting on my family’s teachings,” Ms. Hochul said on Thursday. “I was thinking in that room that this is really a culmination of a lifetime dedicated to service.”
The governor was in Italy for just over 24 hours to attend a summit on climate change hosted by the pope at the Vatican. It was the second such trip taken by a New York leader in a week: Mayor Eric Adams of New York City met with the pope on Saturday.
Ms. Hochul arrived in Rome on Wednesday for a series of private meetings and a reception with Gov. Maura Healey of Massachusetts and Gov. Gavin Newsom of California.
On Thursday morning, the entire conference, which consisted of mayors, governors, climate activists and academics, gathered in the papal apartments for a private audience with Pope Francis. Some attendees wore suits, while others wore tribal attire, including feather headdresses, or more casual tourist clothes. Many brought gifts for the pope: bottles of wine, statues, flags.
Cardinal Peter Turkson, a close adviser to the pope, stood up and instructed the guests not to genuflect when meeting Pope Francis and not to try to kiss his hands. “He will pull them away,” he said, to which people laughed. Attendees were also handed white pamphlets containing a copy of the pope’s remarks in English.
Then the pope entered, leaning on a white cane that matched his white robe. People stood and applauded as he made his way to a chair at the front of the room, flanked by two cardinals. He delivered his address in Italian, his voice soft and slightly frail as he implored those gathered to do more to fight climate change.
“The road ahead is uphill and not without danger,” he said. “The data emerging from this summit have shown that the effects of climate change loom over every aspect of our lives.”
When he was finished speaking, the pope removed his glasses, folded them and put them in his pocket before signing a large red book — a climate change agreement that was also signed by the other world leaders present. The pope then greeted each guest, one by one.
Ms. Hochul said that during her turn to meet the pope she asked him to keep his thoughts and prayers with the people of New York and invited him to visit the state. He asked her to pray for him, she said. Ms. Hochul described their interaction as “meaningful.”
“My dad would have been very proud to know that not only did I go back to Rome, but I met the pope,” she said.
The conference then returned to the Synod, a central meeting place in Vatican City, for keynote addresses from Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, Governor Newsom and Ms. Hochul.
Mr. Newsom used his remarks to throw down a gauntlet of sorts with New York, trumpeting California’s success in transitioning to clean energy.
“California has exceeded its nation-leading environmental goals,” he said, adding: “I come here today on Day 32, 32 straight days, over one month, where California’s economy is literally being run with 100 percent clean energy.”
New York has struggled to follow suit. When Governor Hochul took office, a plan was already in place to convert the state to 70 percent clean energy by 2030. But last month, her administration announced that three ambitious projects to build offshore wind farms had collapsed because of supply chain issues and rising costs.
Despite the setback, Ms. Hochul said in an interview on Thursday that New York was on track to reach its goal in the next six years. Some clean-energy advocates criticized her promotion of New York’s achievements in Rome while a number of state climate change measures were removed from the budget and now face a steep battle to be passed by the Legislature by June 6, the last scheduled day of the legislative session.
So as she stepped up to the dais at the Synod, Ms. Hochul followed Mr. Newsom with fewer concrete climate achievements.
“It is such an honor to be among leaders of states like the very modest California,” Ms. Hochul joked. “We have this bicoastal camaraderie competition, but it all benefits the people of our states.”
In her remarks, the governor again referenced her parents, who she said taught her that “we have a responsibility for others,” an idea that shapes her approach to tackling climate change.
She also detailed the various climate crises that have plagued her two years as governor: hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding and even an earthquake. She called the events “cataclysmic” and announced nearly $300 million in climate resiliency funding that will support grants, effective immediately.
As her speech wound down, Ms. Hochul returned to her family. She will honor her grandparents this weekend when she travels to County Kerry in Ireland for a homecoming ceremony and a visit to her ancestral home. Her family’s Catholic faith underscored the importance of her visit with Pope Francis, she said.
“I grew up in a house where my grandparents had a picture of the current pope on the wall every day,” she said. “It was right up there next to John Kennedy.”