As reporters swarmed around him, Kaine said he would limit his remarks to the church, where he and Anne have worshiped for decades.

"We needed some prayers today, and we got some prayers, and we got some support, and it really feels good," said Kaine, a former Richmond mayor and Virginia governor.

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He was then hustled into an SUV. Holton stayed behind on the sidewalk.

The service proceeded more or less normally, although the priest, the Rev. Dan Brady, joked that he was worried about getting a large banner with wooden poles past the Secret Service.

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Kaine was, however, selected as the soloist for the Communion hymn.

“I called the Lord, He answered me,” he sang serviceably. “Of all my trouble, He set me free.”

A vague acknowledgment of Kaine’s selection as Clinton’s running mate came as the Mass reached the moment when parishioners are asked to offer prayers for specific people or needs, such as people who are sick and homebound. Among the “special intentions” were Kaine and Holton as they face a year of change.

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“Lord, hear our prayers,” parishioners responded.

Both Kaine and Holton appeared to wipe away tears at various points.

An African American man walked up the aisle and handed Kaine a handkerchief. Kaine used it to wipe his eyes, then tucked it into a pocket of his pants.

Holton was invited to address the parishioners. She stood at her pew and asked for their prayers — both for her husband and herself, and for their children. She mentioned their son, Nat, in particular, a Marine who she said would soon deploy to Romania.

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“This parish has meant so much. We are starting a new chapter now," she told the parish, which has a largely African American congregation. "We will really need your prayers.”

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Anyone visiting the church from elsewhere was asked to stand and introduce themselves. A few people said they had come to wish Kaine and Holton well, including a woman who said she’d played violin with Holton in middle and high school. A woman in the choir piped up to thank Kaine for serving as Communion soloist, explaining that she had roped him in for that duty at the last minute.

Another woman stood to say she was there with her 19-day-old grandson, on his first outing. Yet another, crying, said her son was headed for Iraq. She asked for prayers.