Pope Francis meets U.S. President Joe Biden on the Vatican, October 29, 2021.
Vatican Media | Reuters
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 lightweight of religion, hope, and love that shines brightly internationally.”
The White House additionally mentioned Biden spoke with the Pope this morning to inform him concerning the award.
The two additionally “mentioned efforts to advance peace world wide, together with Pope Francis’ work to alleviate struggling for susceptible 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 pressured 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 G-7 Leaders’ Summit in Apulia, Italy. At the time, the 2 spoke concerning the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
In a statement at the time, the Vatican mentioned, “The leaders emphasised the pressing want for a direct ceasefire and a hostage deal to get the hostages house and handle the important humanitarian disaster in Gaza. President Biden thanked Pope Francis for the Vatican’s work to handle 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.
