Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., told Newsmax on Monday about attending Pope Francis’ speech in front of a joint session of Congress in September 2015, just months into Rounds’ first year in the upper chamber.

Francis, 88, died Monday of a stroke and irreversible heart failure following more than two months of being in and out of hospitals in Rome because of severe respiratory infections. He was the first pontiff to speak in front of Congress.

“It was aspirational,” Rounds told “The Record With Greta Van Susteren.” “It was this Pope who leads Catholics throughout the world — and in many cases is seen as really the head of Christians in general — talking about goodwill, talking about what he thought Jesus would say if he were here today with us.

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