A newly released documentary chronicling First Lady Melania Trump’s return to Washington has stirred renewed discussion about her spiritual life, particularly among Catholics seeking clarity about her faith.
The film, titled “Melania,” follows Mrs. Trump in the weeks leading up to President Donald Trump’s second inauguration in 2025. According to EWTN, the documentary traces her movements from Mar-a-Lago to Trump Tower and ultimately to the Capitol rotunda, where she is seen preparing to witness her husband’s swearing-in. As she turns back before entering, she remarks, “Here we go again.”
Produced by Amazon MGM at a reported cost of $40 million, the film has grossed approximately $15 million since its Jan. 30 release, according to EWTN. Media critics have focused less on what the first lady reveals than on what she withholds. As The New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd put it, “She wanted to look gorgeous in every frame and not reveal anything,” according to EWTN’s reporting.
Yet amid the fashion fittings, event planning, and transition meetings depicted in the film, one scene stands apart for its spiritual tone.
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A moment of prayer at St. Patrick’s
According to EWTN, on Jan. 9, 2025, shortly after her husband’s electoral victory and near the anniversary of her mother Amalija Knavs’ passing, Mrs. Trump is shown visiting St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. The same week, she had attended the funeral of President Jimmy Carter, which the film suggests intensified her grief and desire for prayer.
The documentary shows a vehicle arriving at the cathedral as crowds gather outside in the winter cold. Mrs. Trump is greeted by Father Enrique Salvo, rector of the cathedral, and Monsignor Joseph LaMorte, vicar general of the Archdiocese of New York, according to EWTN.
Inside the cathedral, she walks alone down the aisle, pauses before the cross, and lights a candle while Aretha Franklin’s “Amazing Grace” plays. Before leaving, she tells the clergy that her mother frequently visited St. Patrick’s and that she feels comfort in that sacred space. According to EWTN, Father Salvo offers to celebrate Mass for her mother and gives her a blessing.
The scene provides one of the clearest public glimpses in recent years of Mrs. Trump’s spiritual life, which has often been described as private and elusive.
Signs of Catholic identity
Though she married President Trump in an Episcopalian ceremony in 2005, Mrs. Trump has, over the years, offered subtle indications of Catholic devotion. According to EWTN, she carried a rosary in her wedding bouquet. During a 2017 visit to the Vatican, she had her rosary blessed by Pope Francis and was photographed praying before the Blessed Mother in Rome.
That same year, she solemnly led a crowd in praying the Our Father at a campaign rally, according to EWTN. Media outlets at the time reported that she was Catholic, though her office did not formally confirm her status within the Church.
However, her public record has also prompted concern among pro-life Catholics. In her 2024 memoir, she wrote, “A woman’s fundamental right of individual liberty … grants her the authority to terminate her pregnancy if she wishes,” according to EWTN. The statement drew disappointment from many in the pro-life movement who had hoped for stronger alignment with Church teaching on the sanctity of life.
Earlier this year, Mrs. Trump was photographed at the funeral of Pope Francis with her eyes closed and her head tilted upward, an image that again sparked speculation about the depth and nature of her faith.
Faith under the public spotlight
For Catholic observers, the documentary’s quiet cathedral scene may be its most telling moment. In a film otherwise centered on image, transition, and political ceremony, the act of lighting a candle and receiving a priestly blessing offers a glimpse of personal grief and spiritual seeking.
While “Melania” does not provide definitive answers about the first lady’s relationship with the Church, it does place her Catholic associations back into public view. According to EWTN, speculation about her faith continues in the wake of the film’s release.
For many Catholics, the question is not merely whether Mrs. Trump identifies as Catholic, but how faith shapes her life and witness in the public square. The documentary leaves that question open — even as it shows her, for a brief moment, kneeling in silence beneath the cross.
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