The widowed wife of a New York City police officer fatally shot one year ago in Harlem is expecting their “miracle” baby.
Dominique Rivera, the wife of slain NYPD officer Jason Rivera, said during a memorial mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City on Saturday morning she is pregnant with the child she and her late husband share, according to People.
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During her speech, Rivera described her husband as her “partner, friend and, most importantly, my soulmate.” After sharing news of her pregnancy, she added, “One of the things I’m learning is that God works in mysterious ways.”
“Through sorrow and pain, there can also be a rebirth,” said Rivera. “I am blessed to say that Jason and I will be expecting our miracle this spring.”
Dominique Rivera was able become pregnant because her slain husband’s sperm was harvested after he was fatally gunned down last year, according to the New York Post. Rivera is unsure if the unborn child is a boy or a girl.
The incredible news of the Riveras’ baby comes almost one year exactly after thousands of first responders surrounded St. Patrick’s Cathedral to mourn and celebrate the late Rivera’s life.
As CBN’s Faithwire reported, police cars stretched for miles to honor the 22-year-old officer’s life. Rivera was responding to a domestic disturbance in Harlem when he and his partner, Wilbert Mora, were shot by suspect Lawshawn McNeil. Mora ultimately succumbed to his injuries, too.
On Saturday, the surviving Rivera said, “Although Jason won’t be here in physical form to see and experience our miracle, I know he will always be here in spirit watching, protecting, and loving us.”
“To my unborn child, my hope is, with time, guidance, and love, they, too, will get to know their father and, as a family, we will vow to never forget Jason’s tremendous legacy of success and ultimate sacrifice,” she said.
Rivera described the past year of grieving as “unbearable.”
“Although I can understand that, for most of you, life went on, it feels like time has stopped for me,” she said. “I have thought about all of the plans we made, what our lives would be like now that we are married. Thinking about the day we’d be able to make dinner for each other or wait on each other to see who comes home first. Taking yearly vacations and soaking up all the love that newlyweds feel.”
Officer Rivera’s horrific death inspired several faith-filled comments, including words from New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D), who quoted John 15:13 during his eulogy for Rivera in January 2022.
“It takes courage to put on a uniform and a badge, to answer the call, to serve the cause of justice in every sense of the word,” the politician said at the time. “This is a biblical moment. Scripture states: ‘Greater love have no one than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.'”
Please continue to pray for Dominique Rivera, her unborn child, and her loved ones.
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