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Biden heads to Vatican City next month to meet with Pope, Italian heads of state


The White House announced that President Joe Biden will go to Italy next month for a public meeting with Pope Francis in Vatican City before his mandate comes to an end.

Biden accepted the invitation to visit Vatican City during a phone call with Pope Francis on Thursday, according to the White House.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday that Biden would meet with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and President Sergio Mattarella during the trip abroad. The four-day trip is scheduled for the second week of January, and the meeting between Biden and Pope Francis will take place in front of an audience on January 10.

“President Biden He will have an audience with the Pope and discuss efforts to advance peace around the world,” Jean-Pierre said Thursday. “He will also meet with Italy’s leaders to highlight the strength of the US-Italy relationship, thank Prime Minister Meloni his fortress. leadership of the G7 over the past year, and discuss the important challenges facing the world.”

Italy’s position as president of the G7 countries, a role that rotates annually, will end in the new year. The G7 is a cohort of the world’s largest advanced economies.

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Pope Francis, front row, right, poses for a photo with participants at the second day of the Group of Seven (G-7) leaders' summit at the Borgo Egnazia complex in Savelletri, Italy, on Friday 14 of June 2024.

Pope Francis, front row, right, poses for a photo with participants at the second day of the Group of Seven (G-7) leaders’ summit at the Borgo Egnazia complex in Savelletri, Italy, on Friday 14 of June 2024.

Biden’s trip to meet with Pope Francis will come shortly after the Vatican begins the Holy Year on Dec. 24, a centuries-old tradition that occurs every 25 years, during which pilgrims travel to Rome to visit the holy places and receive forgiveness.

Biden is only the nation’s second Catholic president, after John F. Kennedy. He has met with popes, including Francis, throughout his political career. The trips have also been matched by Francis, who made his first formal visit to the US when Biden was vice president.

Biden last met with Pope Francis in June, during which the pair spoke about both war in Israel and the war Russia is waging against Ukraine. The leaders reportedly emphasized the urgent need for a ceasefire in Gaza and the need to cement a hostage deal during their talks. They also discussed the ongoing humanitarian impacts of Russia’s war against Ukraine, according to the US Embassy in Italy.

Palestinians protesting in solidarity with the people of the Gaza Strip wave Palestinian flags as Pope Francis (back) delivers the weekly Papal Angelus prayer in Vatican City on August 3, 2014.

Palestinians protesting in solidarity with the people of the Gaza Strip wave Palestinian flags as Pope Francis (back) delivers the weekly Papal Angelus prayer in Vatican City on August 3, 2014.

The pair also met in 2021, which was only the second time a US president other than Kennedy met with a pontiff. During the private chat, Biden reportedly praised Francis’ leadership “in fighting the climate crisis, as well as their advocacy to ensure that the pandemic ends for all through vaccine sharing and an equitable global economic recovery.”

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However, one area where the views of the two leaders diverge markedly is abortion. Because of Biden’s pro-election stance, many critics, including Catholic bishops, questioned early in his presidency whether Biden could continue to receive Holy Communion. But after the June meeting at the Vatican, Biden said Francis expressed his support for Biden to continue receiving the sacrament.

Pope Francis meets with President Joe Biden during an audience at the Apostolic Palace on October 29, 2021 in Vatican City.

Pope Francis meets with President Joe Biden during an audience at the Apostolic Palace on October 29, 2021 in Vatican City.

Biden’s trip in the final month of his presidency is expected to be his last abroad.

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It will be a rare event, according to the Associated Press, who noted that the last president to travel abroad in the last month of his presidency was his one-term running mate George HW Bush. Bush traveled to Moscow and Paris on diplomatic missions to shore up a nuclear treaty and discuss the war in Bosnia going on at the time with the then-president of France, according to historical State Department records.



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