The White House is expected to announce President Biden will be making a trip to see Pope Francis in January for what may be the last international foray of his presidency, sources familiar with the planning told the Associated Press on Thursday.
The trip was not confirmed by the White House or the Vatican, but such announcements are seldom officially verified weeks in advance.
Biden’s foreign trips in the final months of his presidency have departed from norms, as US heads of state usually do not leave the nation in their final month.
But Biden, 82, notably went to the G20 meeting in Brazil in November, before heading to Angola in December, making good on a promise to go to Africa during his term.
The Vatican trip will mark the third time Biden, the second Roman Catholic president in US history, has officially spoken to the Pope while in office.
Biden met with Pope Francis earlier this year while traveling to Italy for a G7 meeting and spoke to him in 2021 in a wide-ranging discussion at the Holy See.
The meeting in June included an awkward forehead-to-forehead hug initiated by Biden — and a conservation about the Israel-Hamas war and the Russia-Ukraine war.
Biden also “reaffirmed his deep appreciation for the Pope’s tireless advocacy for the poor and those suffering from persecution, the effects of climate change, and conflict around the world,” the White House said in a statement at the time.
Critics in the past have pointed to the president’s pro-abortion stances being out of step with Catholic teaching.
But Francis did not talk to him about abortion, Biden said after their 2021 meeting, claiming that the Pope gave him the OK to keep receiving communion.
“We just talked about the fact that he was happy I’m a good Catholic and I should keep receiving communion,” Biden told reporters at the time.
With Post wires
