Cardinal Timothy Dolan said Wednesday that the family of slain New York City police officer Rafael Ramos "ended up preaching to me" during a visit earlier this week.
"When I went to the Ramos family, and the son says, 'Will you lead us in prayer?' You know what that does to me?" Dolan said on the "Fox and Friends" news program. "My Lord, he's John the Baptist to me, reminding me of Jesus."
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Dolan did not name the son who made the prayer request. Ramos, 40, who was gunned down execution style on Saturday with his partner, Wenjian Liu, 32, has two sons: Jaden, 13, and Justin, a freshman at Bowdoin College in Maine.
The New York archbishop told Fox that this was not what he was expecting as he set out to meet with the officer's survivors.
"I thought: 'These people are going to be desperate. These people are going to be looking at me, saying: Why would God do this? My faith is dead.'
"It's the opposite," Dolan said. "They're the ones that sense this hope and resilience deep down. They’re the ones who ended up preaching to me."
Dolan said the experience exemplifies the broader meaning of Christmas, especially in light of recent events in New York.
"Men and women are innately resilient. We're innately hopeful," Dolan said. "And I think God has planted that within. And the darker the time, the more that light comes through.
"You'll see this sign of resilience and rebirth throughout the city."