President Joe Biden will travel to Rome next month to meet with Pope Francis during his final international trip before leaving office.
The White House announced that Biden, the United States’ second Catholic president, will meet the pope at the Vatican on January 10 as part of a visit that also includes meetings with Italian leaders.
The White House said that the meeting with Pope Francis will focus on global peace efforts, continuing discussions the two leaders have had over the years. This follows a phone call in which Biden thanked the pope for his “continued advocacy to alleviate global suffering” and his efforts to protect religious freedoms.
This marks Biden’s third in-person encounter with Pope Francis since becoming president. Their previous meeting at the Vatican in 2021 focused on climate change, poverty and pandemic recovery. Most recently, the two met in June 2024 during a G7 summit, where they discussed the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine.
The meeting occurs while Pope Francis continues to advocate for the abolition of the death penalty, an issue highlighted in his earlier December Angelus prayer where he called for commutations for those on U.S. federal death row. Biden’s administration has also faced calls from Catholic leaders to align federal policies with Church teachings on this issue.
Biden will step down on January 20, when Donald Trump is set to be inaugurated.
Photo credit: Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
