Biden will meet with Pope Francis in the final days of his presidency

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will meet with Pope Francis in January, likely the president’s final international trip just days before he leaves the Oval Office, the White House announced on Thursday.

Biden accepted Francis’ invitation to visit the Vatican during a Thursday phone call with the pope, the White House said in a statement. The two men have met several times.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement that Biden’s visit to Rome will take place from Jan. 9 to 12, adding that Biden will also meet with Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

During Biden’s conversation with the pope, the two men discussed “efforts to advance peace around the world,” according to the White House.

“The President thanked the pope for his continued advocacy to alleviate global suffering, including his work to advance human rights and protect religious freedoms,” said a White House readout of the leaders’ call.

Before the White House’s official announcement, reporters asked Biden as he departed Marine One whether he planned to visit with the pope in January, a trip first reported by the Associated Press.

“Yes, I will see the pope,” Biden responded.

Biden, who is the second Roman Catholic president in American history, most recently met with Francis privately during a June visit to Italy for the G7 summit.

During the June meeting, the White House said that Biden and Francis discussed the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.

“The leaders emphasized the urgent need for an immediate ceasefire and a hostage deal to get the hostages home and address the critical humanitarian crisis in Gaza,” the White House said in the June statement.

The president was present at the start of the pope’s tenure in 2013, when Biden, then in his capacity as vice president, led the American delegation for Francis’ inauguration.

Francis, 88, ascended to the papacy in March 2013 after the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI.

Biden’s trip to Italy will take place later than his most recent predecessors’ final international trips in office. President-elect Donald Trump’s final international trip during his first term was to India in February 2020, shortly before Covid-19 restrictions limited travel, according to the State Department. Former President Barack Obama’s final international trip as president was to Peru in November 2016, and former President George W. Bush’s final international trip in office was to Afghanistan in December 2008.