President Joe Biden has awarded Pope Francis the Presidential Medal of Freedom with distinction, the primary time in his time period the president has bestowed that honor, the White House introduced on Saturday.
“The first pope from the Southern Hemisphere, Pope Francis is in contrast to any who got here earlier than,” the White House wrote in a press release. “Above all, he’s the People’s Pope — a light-weight of religion, hope, and love that shines brightly internationally.”
The White House additionally mentioned Biden spoke with the Pope this morning to inform him in regards to the award.
The two additionally “mentioned efforts to advance peace around the globe, together with Pope Francis’ work to alleviate struggling for weak communities,” the White House mentioned.
In a tweet, Biden additionally wrote, “Pope Francis, your humility and your grace are past phrases, and your love for all is unparalleled.”
The award comes after Biden was compelled to cancel a visit to the Vatican this weekend to remain again and monitor the devastating wildfires in California.
The two final met in June, when Biden attended the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Apulia, Italy. At the time, the 2 spoke in regards to the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
In a statement at the time, the Vatican mentioned, “The leaders emphasised the pressing want for an instantaneous ceasefire and a hostage deal to get the hostages residence and tackle the crucial humanitarian disaster in Gaza. President Biden thanked Pope Francis for the Vatican’s work to deal with the humanitarian impacts of Russia’s warfare of aggression in Ukraine, together with his efforts to assist return kidnapped Ukrainian youngsters to their households.”
Not solely is that this the primary Presidential Medal of Freedom that Biden has awarded with distinction, nevertheless it’s the primary Medal of Freedom awarded with distinction since President Barack Obama awarded one to then-Vice President Biden.
Biden is the second Roman Catholic to be elected president. President John F. Kennedy, the nation’s thirty fifth president, was the primary.
