Rep. Jim McGovern has opened up about the final moments of his cancer-stricken daughter, Molly, 23, who tragically died suddenly last month after falling ill during a dinner.
Molly, the Massachusetts Democratic congressman’s only daughter, died just minutes after experiencing a wave of nausea while having a jovial meal with a friend and his family on a trip to Assisi in central Italy, the Boston Globe reported.
She had been vacationing in Italy while she finished her bachelor’s degree in political science and international affairs at Northeastern University at the time of her death.
At the age of just 18, McGovern’s daughter was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.
Despite that, she found a way to manage her medical treatment, keeping up a vigorous life that took her from her home in Worcester to Washington, DC, Boston, Australia and Italy.
On the day she died, she had exchanged texts with former US House speaker and family friend Nancy Pelosi, who was preparing to travel to Italy for the funeral of Pope Francis.
“I think his holiness, who was so saintly, decided he wanted another angel in heaven. And that would be Molly, because she was so good,” Pelosi said she told Rep. McGovern last week.
“To be honest, my first thought was: ‘Oh my God, poor Pope Francis,’” the 15-term Democrat joked during his eulogy at his daughter’s funeral Mass in St Bernard’s Church in Worcester.
Molly had a close friendship with the Pelosis, and after the former speaker’s husband, Paul Pelosi, was attacked at their California home in 2022, she sent him cards and “a box of sunshine” filled with gifts aimed at cheering him up, the Globe reported.
Molly’s faith was deeply important to her, her father recalled, even if she wasn’t always on board with all of the church’s teachings.
Asked as a child by a priest what she wanted to be when she grew up, she replied, “I want to be a cardinal,” he recalled during the eulogy.
“She’d also be saying, ‘What’s the deal? Why can’t women be cardinals?’” he told the Globe.
Molly had flown to Rome on Easter Sunday and died three days later in Assisi, a place that held special meaning for her, her mother explained.
“Her everyday necklace was a St. Francis medallion,” Lisa McGovern said at her eulogy.
“She had a great 23 years, but who would have thought the last five years would be the best. There were little miracles everywhere,” she said.
McGovern, the top Democrat on the powerful House Rules Committee, has represented the Bay State since 1997 and has served its 2nd Congressional District since 2013.
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