Capt. Mark Kelly will deliver closing prayer tomorrow at event in Washington, D.C.
Capt. Mark Kelly, husband of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, will speak at the National Prayer Breakfast tomorrow, delivering the closing prayer on behalf of the wounded congresswoman.
President Obama also will speak at the event, which is being held for the 58th consecutive year in the nation's capital.
Kelly is a captain in the U.S. Navy and a NASA astronaut who has commanded one space shuttle flight and flown on two other shuttle missions.
Giffords is the only member of Congress who is married to an active-duty member of the military. She and Kelly were married in 2007.
The National Prayer Breakfast was founded in 1953 and has been attended by every sitting president. The interfaith gathering features speakers focused on affirming commonly held religious values and putting aside political differences.
This year's event is chaired by U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller of Florida and former U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick of Arizona. Josè Enriquez, one of 33 men rescued last year from a collapsed mine in Chile, will be among the speakers.
Randall Wallace, a screenwriter, director, producer and songwriter who wrote the screenplay for the 1995 film "Braveheart," also will speak.
Following the president's address, Kelly will deliver the closing prayer.
Tomorrow's event will be broadcast live on C-SPAN beginning at 5:30 a.m. in Arizona.
Kelly has been at his wife's side at TIRR Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, where she continues to recover from a Jan. 8 shooting in Northwest Tucson. Six people, including a member of Giffords' staff, were killed and 12 people in addition to Giffords were wounded at her Congress on Your Corner event.
WHAT: Mark Kelly, husband of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, speaks at National Prayer Breakfast
WHEN: 7:30 a.m. EST, Thursday, Feb. 3, 2011
WHERE: Washington Hilton, 1919 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, D.C.