In January 2021, Joe Biden became the second Catholic president of the United States, after John F. Kennedy.
Just four months before Americans vote in the presidential election, Biden announced in a letter that he is withdrawing as a candidate.
On several occasions, he has stated he is a practicing Catholic and has spoken publicly about his faith.
JOE BIDEN
President of the United States
I pray that we follow what Jesus taught us: to serve rather than be served. I don't always do it. I hope try. I don't always do it. I pray keep the faith.
Shortly after becoming president, some of his pro-abortion statements caused controversy among Catholics.
As a result, in recent years, the debate over whether bishops should deny Communion to public officials who support this practice resurfaced.
With this controversy on the table and nine months after his election, Biden went to the Vatican for his first official meeting with Pope Francis. According to the White House, they did not discuss abortion and the Pope told him he was a good Catholic and he could continue receiving communion.
But this was neither the first nor the last time the two leaders would meet. They first met in 2015 when the Pope traveled to the United States. There, he met with Biden, who was then vice president and who had just lost a son.
Some ten years later, Biden still thanks the Pope for the gesture of support for his family.
You had such an impression on my family when my son died, how you came in and talked to us about it in Philadelphia…
President Biden spoke those words just a month and a half ago, when the two met again at the G7.
CA
TR: KG
