CNN anchor Don Lemon returned to the anchor desk Tuesday after a brief hiatus following his sister’s sudden death.

“So I want all of you to know that your prayers and words of encouragement have meant the world to me and my family over the last few days,” Lemon said as he began CNN Tonight on Tuesday. “So many of you have reached out to me that I can’t respond to all of them, so I want to respond now and please pass this on.”