President Joe Biden met with Pope Francis for 75 minutes on Friday. This was longer than his predecessors in Oval Office.
President Joe Biden revealed on Friday that Pope Francis told him he’s a ‘good Catholic’ and that the two men did not discuss the controverial issue of abortion during their 75-minute sit down behind the closed doors of the Vatican.
He also stated that the pope had told him to continue receiving communion.
After the meeting, Biden stated that he had just discussed the fact that he was happy to see me as a good Catholic. He also suggested that I should continue to receive communion.
Biden, America’s second Catholic president met with the pontiff amid pressure by conservative Catholics in America about his pro-abortion stance.
The U.S. Conference of Bishops is considering whether to discipline Catholic politicians like Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Biden, who support a woman’s rights to an abortion. This is something Catholics consider a sin. However, they also receive Holy Communion at Mass.
Biden stated that he didn’t take communion on Friday. The president was asked whether he and Pope Francis had discussed U.S. Conference of Bishops. He replied that it was a private discussion.
He also said that he had exchanged prayers with the pontif to pray for peace. The president stated that he prayed to God for peace.
And he revealed Pope Francis blessed his son Beau’s rosary beads that he wears around his wrist. Beau Biden was killed by brain cancer in 2015.
He stated that they talked about climate change, including the ‘need’ and ‘moral responsibility’ to deal with it during their meeting.
Biden’s Friday visit to the pope was more than any of his two predecessors.
Biden, the nation’s second Catholic president, was supposed to spend an hour with the Pontiff, but was granted extra time. In 2017, Francis met then President DonaldTrump for 30 minutes and, in 2014, Francis met with then President Barack Obama for 52 minutes. Biden’s meeting in 1980 with Pope John Paul lasted only 45 minutes.
Biden stated that the meeting was “wonderful” and told reporters afterwards.
During their meeting, Biden presented Francis a woven chasuble, or liturgical vestment, made in 1930 by the famed papal tailor Gamarelli and used by the pope’s Jesuit order in the U.S., where it was held in the archives of Holy Trinity Church, Biden’s regular parish in Washington. John F. Kennedy was the first Catholic U.S. President. He also worshipped at Holy Trinity.
Biden stated that he hoped the gift from the United States would be appropriate.
Biden also presented a presidential challenge coin to the pope.
“I don’t think this is appropriate but there’s a tradition here in America. The president explained that the president carries what is called a command currency.
Biden stated that it was intended for leaders and warriors.
Biden said to the pope, “And you are the greatest warrior for peace that I’ve ever met,”
The president stated that although the U.S. Seal was on the front of the seal, it was only on the back.
“But I know that my son would like me to give it to him because on the back I have the state Delaware and the 261st, which my son served with,” he said. He was referring to Beau Biden’s service in Iraq with Delaware Army National Guard.
Biden said, “The tradition is, and this is just a joke about this, that the next time you see me you don’t have it you have to purchase the drinks.” The president stated, “I’m probably the only Irishman you’ve ever seen who hasn’t had a drink.”
Biden heard the pope speak back in Italian to him, but he made a joke about whiskey.
Meanwhile, Pope Francis, 84, gave Biden, 78, a ceramic tile depicting the iconography of the pilgrim, as well as a collection of the pope´s main teaching documents, the Vatican said.
On Friday, President Joe Biden and Pope Francis met for 75 minutes at Vatican.
President Biden and Pope Francis accompanied by their translators at their private meeting
President Biden presented Pope Francis a presidential challenge coin
President Joe Biden, Jill Bide, the first lady of Jill Biden and Pope Francis during a private meeting at Holy See. After the meeting ended, the Vatican released photographs.
President Biden, first Lady Jill Biden and Pope Francis with the American-papal delegations
Biden gave Pope Francis a handwoven Chasuble from Holy Trinity Church, DC, which he used to wear when he went to Mass every Sunday, during their meeting. The accompanying note states that the White House will also donate winter clothing to charities in honor of World Day for the Poor.
President Biden and Pope Francis meet at the Holy See
Monsignor Leonardo Sapienza (right), welcomes President Joe Biden, First Lady Jill Biden (left), to the Vatican Friday to meet with Pope Francis
The gentlemen of the Pope (right) welcome President Joe Biden (second left) and First Lady Jill Biden.
President Joe Biden (center) & First Lady Jill Biden arrive at the San Damaso courtyard of the Vatican in Rome
First Lady Jill Biden wore a traditional mantilla veil with an animal print dark suit
“I’m Jill’s spouse,” President Joe Biden stated when introducing himself before the Papal gentlemen
The motorcade of President Joe Biden drives across the Via della Conciliazione in Rome. The motorcade was 85 car long due to Italy’s COVID-19 limitations
The Swiss Guards prepare for President Joe Biden’s arrival at the Vatican for a meeting to Pope Francis.
President Joe Biden arrives at San Damaso courtyard of the Vatican for a planned meeting with Pope Francis
After the meeting with Pope Francis, Jill Biden leaves Holy See
Pope Francis adjusts the face masks after he leaves his meeting at President Biden
Due to Italy’s COVID-19 limitations, President Joe Biden’s motorcade numbered 85 cars.
People line the streets in Rome, following the motorcade route of President Joe Biden
First Lady Jill Biden joined her husband for the closed-door meeting at the Vatican. She left when the meeting was over – Pope Francis followed her husband, but Biden stayed for a prolonged bilateral meeting with top Vatican officials.
The president said, “It’s great to be back,” when he arrived at Holy See. He also said, “I’m Jill’s husband,” which is another of his signature greetings.
The notoriously late president arrived just in time for the noon gathering. He wore a dark suit, tie, and Jill Biden wore a traditional black lace mantilla cover for the occasion.
The Vatican has released a video in which the president introduces the pope to his staff.
After presenting the pope, Biden said, “You just made him a hero by letting me introduce his wife,” after presenting the pope, Annie Tomasini, director of Oval Office Operations.
Biden introduced Dr. Amanda Sloat at the National Security Council’s senior director for Europe. He told the pope, “Things you should learn about this lady, she knows more than I do about foreign policy and she’s much smarter than me.”
He shared the military awards of Dr. Kevin O’Connor, and then explained that he was the physician to President Obama.
Biden explained, “They assign me a physician.”
Biden laughed when it was the turn of acting Chief of Protocol Asel Robs.
The meeting comes after the Vatican abruptly canceled a planned live broadcast of the meeting – and White House reporters were left standing outside in the courtyard.
The Vatican press office provided no explanation for why press coverage was limited to the president’s motorcade arriving in the courtyard of the Apostolic Palace, where Monsignor Leonardo Sapienza, the head of Papal Household, greeted him.
The Vatican provided the footage and photos of Biden meeting with the Pope in the palace throne area. They edited the footage before it could be released to the public.
Due to Italian COVID-19 rules that only allow four people per vehicle, the Bidens’ motorcade from Chicago to the Vatican measured 85 cars.
The president was accompanied by high-ranking officials, including National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Biden is a Catholic and attends weekly Mass. He carries rosary beads that belonged to his deceased son Beau and he keeps a photo of himself and the Pope behind his desk in the Oval Office in the first row of pictures next to ones with his family.
It’s the fourth time the two men have met and was Biden’s first stop on his five-day trip to Europe. He’ll also attend G20 in Rome this weekend before heading to Scotland for the UN Climate Summit, also known as COP26.
Biden’s sitdown with Pope Francis comes as his administration is fighting Texas’ abortion law, the most restrictive law in the nation, which bans abortion once a fetal heartbeat can be detected and that is normally after six weeks and before many women even know they are pregnant.
In Baltimore, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is meeting in November to discuss whether Catholic politicians supporting abortion rights should be warned about receiving Communion.
The Swiss Guards prepare for President Joe Biden’s arrival at the Vatican for a meeting to Pope Francis.
A handout from Italy’s State Police shows snipers on a roof in Rome, near the Vatican. This is as world leaders are flocking to Rome for the G20. President Joe Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, and Pope Francis visited at noon on Friday
President Joe Biden is a devout Catholic. You can see it above to the left.
President Biden and First Lady Jill arrived in Rome at 2:30 AM local time
Vice President Joe Biden (left), and Pope Francis, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell behind them, waved from a balcony at Capitol after the Pope addressed a joint-session Congress in September 2015.
The divided U.S. Conference of Bishiops decided to draft a statement about communion in June. Some bishops believe this should specifically warn these Catholic politicians, including Biden who is the second Catholic president after John F. Kennedy. Despite warnings from the Vatican, they did so in spite of being warned by the Vatican that such a move could lead to discord. The November gathering of the bishops will continue to discuss the matter.
Biden takes communion. Biden has stated that he is against abortion personally, but cannot force his views on elected leaders.
Pope Francis has strongly supported the church’s rejection of abortion, calling it’murder.
Biden also met with His Eminence, Cardinal Pietro Parolin while at the Vatican.
Joe Biden, then-Vice President, shakes hands at Pope Francis during a September 2015 joint session of Congress.
Pope Francis (left) and Vice President Joe Biden (right), greet each other at the Vatican in April 2016. This was before President Donald Trump was elected. Biden’s son Hunter (second from right) and son-in-law Howard Krein (center) stand along his side
Biden spoke out about his relationship with Pope Francis during the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Dinner in October. He did this from Wilmington’s Queen theater, as he was still afflicted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Biden spoke of his first meeting with Pope Francis at the Pope’s 2013 inauguration in the Vatican. Biden was vice president.
‘When he greeted me, he said, “Mr. Biden said, “Vice President, we’re always open to you here,” “He was really trying to send a message out to the world to put up a welcome sign at our church’s front door.
Biden also mentioned Pope Francis’ 2015 trip to the White House, when he was in office alongside President Barack Obama. He said that it gave him the feeling of ‘hope’ and ‘possibility together’.
‘And it came to me at a very personal time, a very difficult period in the life of our family. Biden stated that Beau, our son, had just died a few weeks earlier. “Pope Francis took time to meet with me and my family to help us see the light,’ Biden said.
Vice President Biden also visited the Vatican in April 2016 to attend a stem cell conference.
Biden spoke at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Dinner and said that his friendship to Pope Francis was proof that “anything” is possible in the U.S.
Biden stated, “I live in an incredible country, we all live within an amazing country,” “Where an Irish-Catholic child like me from Scranton in Pennsylvania would one day become friends with a Jesuit Pope.
Biden stated, “But that’s who our country is as a nation.”
Past presidential meetings with popes
Here are some memorable moments from past presiential meeting with pontifs
-President John F. Kennedy´s 1963 meeting with Pope Paul VI at the Vatican was historic: The first Roman Catholic president of the United States was seeing the Roman Catholic pontiff only days after his coronation. Kennedy, who was subject to anti-Catholic bias in his presidential campaign, shook hands rather than kissing the pope’s ring as is the custom for Catholics.
-Pope Paul VI´s trip to New York in October 1965 presented protocol problems. President Lyndon Johnson wanted him to visit, but the pontiff was a chief from a state that the U.S. had not officially recognized. The solution: Johnson flew to New York for dinner at the apartment of his friend Arthur Goldberg, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and the pontiff was welcomed to Johnson´s suite at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel the next day.
-Johnson loved unusual papal presents. Paul was presented with a silver-framed, autographed photo of him at that 1965 meeting. Johnson presented the pontiff with a bust of himself a foot high at their second meeting at Vatican two years later.
Jimmy Carter was the first president to host a pope at White House. Pope John Paul II hosted 10,000 guests at the White House during his stay. They were split into separate arrival and departure ceremonies on both the North and South Lawns.
-President Ronald Reagan struggled to keep his eyes open during his 1982 first visit to Vatican. Reagan´s head bobbed and his eyes repeatedly closed for seconds at a time while John Paul talked solemnly of crises in the Falkland Islands and Lebanon. Reagan was on a 10-day European tour with a full schedule. But it fed already rampant talk that the 71-year-old president wasn´t physically up to the job.
-In 1984, Reagan caused controversy with his decision to establish diplomatic relations between the U.S. and the Vatican. This was a long-cherished goal of the Holy See. Reagan and John Paul were soon reunited at Fairbanks, Alaska airport as they refueled. They had been on the same flight, and their paths crossed when one started his Asia trip. The Alaska stop generated a lot of excitement and also many T-shirts that said “The Pope Meets the Dope”.
President Bill Clinton flew to St. Louis for his fourth meeting with Pope John Paul. He was beginning a U.S. tour and he wanted to say goodbye to him. John Paul, who said that America was facing a trial, stated that the Senate was currently in the throes if its impeachment case against Clinton. It was assumed that the pontiff, a man who also challenged Americans towards ‘a higher moral view’, was referring about his long-running dispute with Clinton regarding the president’s support of abortion rights.
-At George W. Bush´s last meeting with John Paul, at the Vatican in June 2004, he presented the pope with the Medal of Freedom, the nation´s highest civilian honor. The pontiff responded to his concern by reading a statement describing his ‘grave concern’ over events in Iraq where the U.S.-led conflict had been ongoing for just over one year.
Bush became the first sitting U.S. President to attend a funeral of the Pope after John Paul died.
-At his first audience with John Paul´s successor, Pope Benedict XVI, Bush´s overly casual behavior was noted by many Italians and Vatican watchers. He addressed the pope as ‘sir,’ rather than the customary ‘your holiness,’ and leaned far back in his chair with one leg thrown informally over another, instead of the ramrod-straight physical posture more commonly seen in the pontiff´s presence. Rome´s ANSA agency flashed a ‘Gaffe Presidente’ headline.
-For Benedict´s first U.S. tour as pope, there were several presidential firsts: Bush traveled to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland to meet the pontiff´s plane, brought the largest crowd of his presidency to the South Lawn for Benedict´s arrival ceremony, and hosted a dinner in the pope´s honor that Benedict didn’t attend.
-Former President Barack Obama met with Pope Francis twice, once at the Vatican in 2014 and again during the pope´s 2015 visit to the U.S., where Obama met Francis on the tarmac at Andrews and played host in the Oval Office. Before 11,000 people on the South Lawn of the White House, Obama praised the pope as a ‘living example of Jesus´ teachings,’ while Francis lauded Obama for his commitment to addressing climate change.
-The relationship between former President Donald Trump and Pope Francis was famously tense. The two men argued during the 2016 campaign. Francis took a dig at Trump, declaring that people who believe only in building bridges and not barriers are ‘not Christian. Trump, who campaigned for a wall at the U.S.–Mexico border, called the comments “disgraceful” and suggested that the Mexican government was using Francis to its advantage. The photos of Trump and Francis meeting at the Vatican in 2017 show a stone-faced Francis next to a smiling Trump. Later, the president stated that their meeting was ‘fantastic.
– The Associated Press
This July 2, 1963 file photo shows President John F. Kennedy and Pope Paul VI talking at the Vatican. Kennedy’s meeting with Pope Paul VI in Vatican was historic. Kennedy was the first Roman Catholic president of America and he was seeing the Roman Catholic pontiff just days after his coronation.
This file photo of President Barack Obama and Pope Francis smiles as they meet at Vatican on March 27, 2014.
This June 13, 2008 file photo shows President George W. Bush and Pope Benedict XVI posing in the Vatican Gardens at their meeting at Vatican.
This file photo, taken May 24, 2017, shows President Donald Trump and Pope Francis meeting at the Vatican for a private audience.