BOSTON – Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida and candidate for the presidency of the United States, accompanied by his wife Jill Casey DeSantis, visited the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine on the morning of Monday, September 11, 2023.

The DeSantis couple was welcomed by His Grace Bishop Athenagoras of Nazianzos, businessman and Friends of St. Nicholas Chairman Michael Psaros who played a leading role in the completion of the Church, St. Nicholas presiding priest Fr. Andreas Vithoulkas, and Parish Council President Demetri Papacostas.

Psaros gave them a tour of the church, referring to its importance for both the Greek Orthodox Church and the United States, as it is the only place of worship at Ground Zero.

DeSantis and his wife, who wanted to visit Ground Zero on the dark anniversary of the terrorist attack, entered the church with reverence, admiring the iconography and the building in general.

DeSantis showed great interest in the church and even asked to see and hold the fragment of the holy relic of St. Nicholas that is stored in the church, saying he wants “to have St. Nicholas as my patron and blessing.”

The couple also greeted Greek-American relatives of victims who died on the day of the terrorist attack, and then walked to the original location of the St. Nicholas Church.